


Framed

by HWIAP



Category: Homestuck
Genre: AU, F/M, Karezi - Freeform, Original Characters - Freeform, detective stuffs, implied black Dave/Vriska, possible implied black Vriskat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-20
Updated: 2016-06-30
Packaged: 2017-12-24 03:44:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 22,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/934911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HWIAP/pseuds/HWIAP
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Karkat Vantas is framed for the murder of a highly ranked Executioner, Terezi Pyrope decides that's just the case she wants to take on, even if her partner doesn't quite agree.</p><p>Requested by Tumblr user phantaz ; I hope I do your idea justice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'M SORRY IF I MESSED UP WITH ANYTHING. I had only a few minutes to actually get this chapter posted on here before I got picked up.

Your name is Terezi Pyrope and you are not in a good mood. Your ‘criminal informant’ has gone and done SOMETHING and gotten her ass caught doing it. What it was, you don’t know. Nor do you care to know. You just want her to stop whatever it was. Things were difficult enough being new to Legislacerating, you don't need your informant getting hanged or clubbed or executed.  
  
“SERKET.” Your usual grin was nowhere in sight. Your general playful mood was buried. The cerulean just grins back at you, arms cuffed behind her back and legs shackled together. She was casually leaning back in a chair of an ‘interrogation’ room, her arms behind the back of it.  
  
“Yes, dearest Pyrope? Have you come to sweep me off my feet by saving the day yet again?”  
  
“Stuff it, spider. What the hell did you do this time? There’s only so many chances you’re getting before someone gets to have fun taking your life.”  
  
“Ohhhh, do I get to guess who it is?”  
  
“No.”  
  
“Oh come on!”  
  
“Vriska, look. I won’t know if they’re done with you or not until after you’re dead. And you’re pretty much the only information I get about criminals and that’s just because we grew up together. You’re lucky I’m even bothering with you after all those FLARPing incidents.”  
  
“I’ve already apologized! What more do you want?”  
  
“A genuine one.” She lets out an over exaggerated groan, lasting exactly eight seconds. “You’ve managed to make Dave annoyed. He doesn’t get why I don’t just leave you to your fate. It’s Dave, Vriska.”  
  
She smirks for a second, then it flickers and disappears as something comes to mind. “You’re debating it, aren’t you?”  
  
Well, she isn’t a criminal genius for nothing. But she certainly is slow sometimes. “Yes. Yes I am. You’re my sister, but you’re also a pain in everyone’s ass.”  
  
Cue the silence as she thinks. It isn’t fake thinking, it’s already been more than eight seconds. She’s seriously thinking about this. Good. Because you are, too. It’d be a lot easier to just let the Subjugs get her and do what they want.  
  
But then again, she was your sister. She is your informant. Pretty much the only living thing you have from wrigglerhood. Sure, there was Sollux. But he was almost always busy with coding or Feferi that he had basically no time for you.  
  
The pale crush you’ve had on him for a while still hasn’t gone away, though. It’s gotten to the point where it’s annoying.  
  
Maybe you’ll look him up one of these nights.  
  
As for the others… Well, you were never too close with them, anyways.  
  
“Okay. Fine.”  
  
“Fine what?” You raise an eyebrow, your foot tapping impatiently on the ground. With her, that could easily mean a various assortment of things.  
  
“I’ll stop. But you’re going to like what I found this time.”  
  
“No. I don’t think I will.”  
  
“Someone’s being framed for a murder.”  
  
“So? That isn’t anything new.”  
  
“That ‘someone’ is a pretty special troll. A mutant. I’m sure you remember reading about Signless, right?”  
  
You stare at the pirate-wannabe, trying to figure out whether she’s pulling your leg or not. Her usual smirk is there, but the hint of contempt and superiority is missing.  
  
She isn’t lying.  
  
“The framed troll’s his descendant?”  
  
“Ding-ding-ding! Looks like Legislacerator Pyrope may actually make a good Legislacerator after all!”  
  
“Yeah, if her criminal informant stops getting her ass caught. Come on, you can tell me more about this case while we head back to my hive. Yes, my hive. You have to deal with trees and the colorfulness of the forest.”  
  
Vriska groans, then stands from her chair as if she’s done this a million times before. Which, with her record, wouldn’t be too far off from the actual number. “Fine. But only because you’re the greatest sister ever.”  
  
“You shouldn’t be sucking up to me. You should be sucking up to Dave. He’s the one that wants you gone, remember?”  
  
She huffs, stalking out the door of the room and leaving you to trail behind her. “Yeah, yeah, he can stuff it. If I have to deal with his raps, he has to deal with this.”  
  
“There’s a difference. People actually like his raps. Nobody likes you going around doing whatever it is you do that lands you in a cell. Now get moving! I’m sure they’re already waiting for us so they can undo your chains.”  
  
Sure enough, once the two of you get to the exit, there’s a blue blood standing there with her eyes trained on you, keys being lazily twirled around her pinky finger. “We’ll get your head eventually, pirate.”  
  
“Yes, yes, I knoooooooow, just unlock these stupid things already, they’re cutting into my skin!” Vriska turns around and impatiently jingles her hands at the woman.  
  
“Are you sure you want her to-“  
  
“Are you questioning the motives of a Legislacerator?” There’s a semi-tense silence, where you can practically smell the confusion coming from the blueblooded woman. Blue bloods always get so confused when someone of a lower blood but a higher ranking gets sharp with them.  
  
It’s a lot of fun to mess with them. It really is.  
  
You do it whenever you can.  
  
Which, with what you do, is actually pretty often.  
  
Without saying anything else to you or Vriska, the blue blood unlocks the shackles and takes them back, then steps away from the door to let the two of you out.  
  
“Alright Vriska, I expect to NOT have to deal with this again. Otherwise you’re dead, got it?”  
  
“Yeah, I got it. Let’s just get to your weird treehive so I can tell you and Shades all about Signless’ descendant.”  
  
You give a little nod, your mind already working on how you could possibly clear his name. Yes, framings happen all the time. It really isn’t a surprise. A lower blood gets framed for murder, and most of the time they’re still found guilty.  
  
But this guy… He was a mutant. He had bright red blood.  
  
He intrigued you and you don’t even know him.  
  
Letting him die before you even got to know him seemed like a crime.  
  
And as a Legislacerator, you had to prevent every crime.  
  
No matter how fake they were.  
  
“Careful there, Pyrope. You’re pretty much vibrating. Are you really that excited about this?”  
  
“I think excited is the wrong word for it.”  
  
“You’re grinning.”  
  
“Am not.”  
  
“Gasp! Is the Legislacerator lying? I’m disgusted!”  
  
“Stuff it, Vriska. It’s hard to not be at least a little hyped up about this! I mean, it’s interesting! You know how much I love these kinds of jobs!”  
  
Vriska sighs, moving to stand in front of you, effectively stopping your progress. “It isn’t a ‘job’, it’s just some gossip. You haven’t been hired for this. Keep that in mind. This guy could already be dead for all we know. I mean, think about it. A mutant against blues? No chance.”  
  
“There’s SOME fairness in these courts, Vriska. Just get moving back to my hive so you can tell us what all you know about the case.”  
  
“Yeah, yeah.”  
  
It takes a while of talking, the two of you doing mindless banter to keep from one of you getting too bored and deciding to piss off the other. She may be the closest thing to a friend you’ve got, but that didn’t keep you two from being bitches to each other.  
  
That was how your relationship worked.  
  
“Took you two long enough. What was the holdup, ‘Rez?”  
  
“Vriska has some interesting information for us.” You flash the coolkid a grin, brushing past him on your way inside. Vriska follows you in afterwards, and you can pretty much taste the smugness as she passes Dave.  
  
Those two really needed to just fuck and get it over with. You weren’t going to play auspitice.  
  
“That isn’t an answer. But I’ll bite. What information did she find while sticking her nose in places it doesn’t belong?”  
  
“I-“  
  
“What she was doing doesn’t matter.” You shoot your friend a quick glare, your eyes slightly narrowed, before looking back to your partner. “The quick summary is that Signless has a descendant. And that, apparently, he’s being framed for murder.”  
  
“How the hell did he manage to get a descendant? And how did this guy live? I thought the only redbloods you trolls allowed to live were humans. Are we being lied to, ‘Rez?”  
  
“No, I don’t know how he lived. Maybe the jadebloods just missed him in the caverns? But that isn’t important, what’s important is-“  
  
“That you do absolutely nothing about this. I know what you’re thinking, Terezi, I’ve worked with you for a long time. No. We’re not doing anything about this. You’re going to get yourself into some serious shit.”  
  
“At least listen to what Vriska found out before deciding something?”  
  
“I’ll listen, but my mind isn’t changing.”  
  
Of all the times for him to get annoyingly stubborn, it had to be NOW. This was one of the reasons you had never pounced on a relationship with him. That and being in a quadrant with a work partner NEVER ended well.  
  
“Am I allowed to talk now?”  
  
“No.”  
  
“Dave.”  
  
“I was being sarcastic.”  
  
You roll your eyes and groan, going over to one of your scalemate piles and falling into it. These two were going to make you want to kill someone. You loved them both to death, they were your closest friends and dearest partners, but they drove you NUTS.  
  
“I’m talking anyways.” You feel a shift in the scalemates and an increase in the smell of blueberry. Vriska must’ve taken a seat by you. Right after, there’s a flop and several squeaks, along with a stronger scent of cherry. Dave was now on your other side. “According to what I’ve heard, a very prestigious Executioner was killed in his own hive. The killer had come in through the window, scratching himself as they did. They found red blood on some of the shards. They ALSO found a sickle hidden in a bush with the Executioner’s blood on it. Apparently the blood was too red to be anything but a mutant’s. And this particular mutant’s preferred weapon is also apparently a sickle.”  
  
That didn’t sound like much of a set-up to you. If evidence was already mostly pointing towards this guy as the culprit… Then didn’t that make him the killer? But why would a mutant want to bring that kind of attention to himself? And how would he even manage to kill someone of such a high rank with only a few scrapes from glass?  
  
“Definitely a framing.” While thinking, you had shifted to be laying on your back, arms crossed behind your head. Dave made a noise of annoyance, which led you to believe Vriska was smirking at him. “You sure we can’t-“  
  
“I’m sure, ‘Rez. If we weren’t called to defend the guy, then we can’t do anything for him.”  
  
“Well of course we wouldn’t be called to defend him! Do you really think someone as low down on the spectrum as him would be able to afford even a DECENT Legislacerator?”  
  
He groans, soft and barely audible. Vriska probably didn’t even hear it. “Terezi. We aren’t doing this. We are not putting our asses on the line for some mutant troll that none of us know. I’m not going to let you risk your career like this.”  
  
“But this is the entire REASON I became a Legislacerator! You know that!” You sit up and shift to face him completely, leaving Vriska behind you. She probably wasn’t even paying attention anymore. “Dave, I went into this so this kind of thing wouldn’t happen!” Your lips turn into a pout, as if you’re about to plead with him.  
  
Which you may actually end up doing.  
  
At least, you would’ve, if he didn’t decide that was the perfect moment to stand up. “No is no, Terezi. We’re not working on this case. Vriska… I don’t trust you one bit, but make sure our little teal dragon doesn’t get herself caught up in anything.”  
  
“Yeah, yeah. I take it you’re going now?” Vriska sounded more bored than anything else, and she was probably waving at him to leave.  
  
Dave pauses before responding, and you know he’s debating whether it was safe to leave you with her. Of course it wasn’t. She owed you big time, so she was going to let you do what you wanted to do.  
  
Not like she’d get a choice in the matter, anyways. You were going to make her. But you doubted it’d come to that. She was always ready and willing to do whatever it took to annoy Dave.  
  
“Yeah. I’m going.” You can tell he’s definitely worried about you doing something, and for a moment you debate being a good little blind girl and listening to your partner.  
  
Then you figure he could just suck it up and be a man, because fuck it you’re doing this whether he agrees with it or not. You’re not about to let some poor troll hang for a crime he never committed.  
  
The moment you’re sure he’s gone, you shift to be staring at Vriska. “Speak.”  
  
She snickers and pushes a bright red scalemate into your face. “Patience. I gotta get something out of my sylladex. The moment I heard about this framing, I figured you’d be curious, so I decided to record it.”  
  
You grumble and take the scalemate, hugging it close to you as she fumbles around with her modus. It was a new one, given to her by… Somebody. You figured it was Tavros. The two of them rarely spoke anymore, ever since she became an outlaw and he started moving up in the Cavalrepear ranks, but they still exchanged gifts on occasion.  
  
It was kind of sweet.  
  
One of these nights you may just have to find a way to get those two in a room together so they could PROPERLY talk. But then again, that may just end in someone losing a limb.  
  
That or several pails would be necessary.  
  
Your thoughts are brought back to the situation at hand when Vriska whaps you with another scalemate. “Alternia to Terezi! I took out the recorder, are you ready to listen?”  
  
“No need to assault me with Major Berrytail! I’m listening!”  
  
“Good! Now, the first bit is kind of staticky. That was just me asking these two bright maroons what they thought about the frame-up.”  
  
“Do I want to know how-“  
  
“I was visiting one of the multiple casinos I’m still a partial owner of. I was going there to RESIGN, but I didn’t get the chance to because I heard these two talking. And then as I left to come find you, I got caught.”  
  
Well, that was a fairly honorable reason to be going there. “I’m impressed. Who bribed you to leave and how much did they offer?”  
  
She’s quiet for a second, then she whacks you with Berrytail again. “Not important! Just listen to the tape!”  
  
You snicker and nod. Of course she wouldn’t willingly quit a place that was earning her more money than she could ever do anything with.  
  
As the static plays, Vriska continues to talk. “One of them had an accent that got pretty bad. I don’t know his name. But his buddy’s name is Narile. I figured you’d like him, he’s the more logical thinking of the duo.”  
  
You shush her as you hear a voice starting to come in. It was definitely heavily accented.  
  
“The only proof they ‘ad was the blood! I doubt tha’s even real blood!”  
  
“There’s no way h’s the only one to use a sickle in all of Alternia, it isn’t logical to automatically say it’s him just because of that.”  
  
“It don’t have a thing ta do with logic, Narile! It’s all ‘bout the blood! Just ‘cause he’s a mutant they think they ca’ jus’ say it’s ‘im!”  
  
“That and the dead troll’s assistant says he saw him running from the hive after the murder was committed. But I don’t see why that means anything. From what I saw when they took him from his hive-“  
  
Vriska pauses it there, and you glare at her. “What was that for?”  
  
“I figured I should explain. These two trolls – Narile and his buddy – live in the same lawnring as this mystery mutant. So they had the privilege of watching him get dragged from his hive the moment the sun went down.”  
  
“Okay, I guess that explains how Narile saw this troll getting taken. Now click play!”  
  
She snickers and does so.  
  
“- he didn’t have any kind of injuries. That doesn’t match if he was supposedly cut by the glass.”  
  
“Oh don’ even try ta use tha’! Ya should know they’ll jus’ say ‘e was cut where ya can’ see ‘im! An’ tha’ ‘e changed ‘is clothes ta try an’ cover it up!” Holy SHIT this guy’s accent got bad when he got worked up.  
  
“Basically, there isn’t much solid proof at all. They only thing keeping this guy as guilty is the fact that the blood was red. He’s even got an alibi!”  
  
“Not unless the guy thinks it’s a great idea to leave ‘is dumbass movies going all day when he ain’t even home.”  
  
The recording ends with one of them snickering at the comment, most likely the unnamed troll with the awful accent.  
  
“Well then, Vriska! You know what this means?” You grin wide at her, setting down Professor Applebottom on the pile. She doesn’t say anything, which you take to mean she isn’t going to respond.  
  
Buzz kill.  
  
“Field trip time!”  
  
“Excuse me?”  
  
“We’re going to go talk to this mystery mutant and get his side of things! I like the sound of this case! It’s both a challenge and when we win this, justice shall prevail!”  
  
“You seriously have a justice fetish, don’t you?”  
  
“Shut up and figure out where they’re holding this guy.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I know this isn't even half the amount of words that the first chapter had, but if I kept this chapter going any longer it'd feel too forced and it'd just feel wrong.

It takes a bit of ‘persuasion’ (aka, arguing, drub-threatening, and just flat-out whining) but eventually you get yourself and your criminal consultant access to this supposed murderer’s holding cell. Most suspects get at least a semi-decent place to stay, but this guy was getting the full criminal treatment.

Not a good sign.

Of course, that doesn’t surprise you. A mutant accused of murdering someone so high in both caste and rank? He stood virtually no chance. Not unless there was distinct proof to it not being him. But what was the likelihood of that? Practically nothing.

But that didn’t mean you just weren’t going to try.

“The fuck do you want?” The candy-blooded troll’s voice is low and growly, his throat undoubtedly scratched up from his unnaturally loud voice.

It matches yours.

“I’m not supposed to get my ass culled until after I’ve been dragged through the torturous hell of court. Or are you the troll that’s had the unfortunate luck of having to defend my pathetic ass?”

You take a seat on one of the harsh and cold chairs, moving it to be facing him, your shades pointed towards the other troll. You hear the slight scrape of the cold metal on the ground as Vriska brings her own chair over, and you grin wider. She was being quiet.

That meant she actually believed there could be something done. Good.

You have luck on your side.

“We’re here to help. But we aren’t your attorney, either. I’m a Legislacerator, but not yours.”

“Then why the fuck are you here? Shouldn’t you be out doing something useful? Or sleeping? It’s the fucking daytime! Or are you blind?”

You bark out a laugh, bringing your shades up to show off your burned and dead eyes. “Well, I am blind. But I’m too curious to sleep! What about you?” You fix your shades, relishing in the smell of his utter befuddlement. “Sleep is rather important if you want to prove yourself innocent.”

“I’m not trying to, though. That’s the thing. I don’t fucking care, I know I’m dead eventually. I’m not getting out of this alive, lady. I don’t want your ‘help’. I just want to be left the fuck alone to wallow in my shitty self-hatred until I’m handed over to an Executioner!”

He had no drive to prove himself innocent? That… Wasn’t good. It wasn’t going to work. He wasn’t going to work with you if he didn’t want to win the trial.

“But you didn’t do it.”

He snorts at that, leaning back on the cold stone wall. “Yeah? So what? Doesn’t mean anyone’s going to believe me. So there’s no point in even giving it a shot. Whoever this fuck is did a damn good job of making it look like me!”

“You aren’t even going to give it a shot?” Your voice has developed a bit of an edge, your eyes sharpening into a glare. Of course, he can’t see the glare you’re sending at him, but hopefully he can hear it in your voice. “You’re just going to let the bullshit system we have in place decide that you aren’t worthy to live? That you’re the killer? Sure, you’re a mutant, but what you’re doing right here is-“

“I don’t give a FUCK what I’m doing! My life, my choices, stay out of them!” His voice has risen, surpassing yours in anger and volume.

You’re shocked into silence.

Nobody has done that before.

You come back to your senses when the troll beside you takes in a deep breath and gets up, casually strolling up to the redblood. “Terezi, go sniff around, or whatever it is you do. I’m going to see if I can convince this guy.” You open your mouth to retort, to tell her that you can handle this, but you can feel the cold blueberry gaze on you.

This is one of those times that you aren’t going to not listen to her.

So you calmly get out of your seat, turn, and leave the holding hell to go ‘sniff around, or whatever it is you do’. Hopefully by the time you come back, the troll won’t be scared out of his wits or broken in any kind of way.

Well, maybe scared.

Scared trolls tend to talk easier.

~

After a couple minutes of wandering and getting more information about this guy, you get the feeling that he’s finally willing to talk. So you head back to his cell, nostrils flared and mouth partially open to get an immediate image of the scene. Vriska is back in her chair, and Karkat – which is apparently the guy’s name – is still against the wall, but he’s eyeing your consultant a little on the nervous side.

Good.

“So! Mister Vantas, are you more willing to let me help?”

He grumbles something, and Vriska clears her throat right after. A small, semi-strangled noise escapes, and he mumbles something along the lines of ‘I don’t fucking care, do what you want’. 

Well, it wasn’t compliance, but it seemed close enough.

“Great!” Your face splits into a grin, and you step up to him, letting your tongue drag up his cheek. Holy SHIT this guy tasted like cherries. Vibrant cherry candy wrapped up in a pepper-scented wrapper.

His voice cracks as he lets out something like a screech, frantically wiping at his cheek and staring at you in a mixture of horror and disgust. “What the FUCK was that for?!”

You respond with a snicker, going to lick him again. He blocks you this time, pushing you away with his hand on your cheek, growling. You just continue to snicker. “I was tasting you!”

He falters, and you manage a quick flick of the tongue on his other cheek before dancing away and back over to Vriska.

“You were WHAT?!”

“Tasting you!” You let out a laugh before turning back to the exit. “I’ll be back, Karkles~! I expect your full cooperation next time!”

You leave him to fumble with upset and frustrated noises, Vriska following you out and laughing.

The last thing you hear is, “THAT ISN’T MY NAME!” Before you’re out of hearing range.

Oh this was so going to be worth it.

But now that you were intrigued by this mysterious ‘killer’, you couldn’t let yourself not prove him innocent. You wanted him to live for a reason OTHER than justice.

“You’re grinning like an idiot, Pyrope. Did he really taste that good?” Vriska nudges her shoulder against yours, raising an eyebrow at you.

You can smell the smug grin on her face.

“Of course he tasted good! You know how I am with red and that I can taste colors!”

“Which is exactly why you wouldn’t stop licking Dave for like a perigee, right? I thought you were over the taste of ‘candy red’?” Her grin turns into more of a smirk, and you know exactly where she’s heading with this.

“Shut up, Serket. It tastes waaaay better when there’s a mix of anger and pepper to it. Gives it some spice.”

She laughs and laughs, her grin about as sharp as yours and as self-satisfied as yours when you win a case. “Whatever you say! Just try not to get too upset when your little lollipop gets culled!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I apologize for the shortness!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DID THE THING YOU GUYS.

You wake up in the morning to an annoyed foot tapping in front of you. “Terezi Pyrope, what did I tell you to not do yesterday?” That is a very annoyed Dave standing in front of your scalemate pile. A chorus of squeaks greets your sitting up, and you rub your eyes under your glasses. “Don’t think I can’t tell, either. Vriska’s passed out next to you, and you’re both still fully clothed. On the pile that’s right by your door. I don’t care what Vriska says, I’m not an idiot.”

Maybe you two should have gone a little farther before crashing, instead of passing out the moment you got inside. Oops. That had not been planned out too well.

“Can you really blame me, Dave? Come on, you know me! I don’t know what made you think I wouldn’t go to find this guy.” You cross your arms and scowl up at him. If he didn’t think you would go off, then he does not deserve to be your partner.

You can practically hear him rolling his candy-red irises behind his coolkid shades, and you can’t help but think of the candy-blooded troll sitting in a shitty cell, waiting to be given a similarly shitty attorney that’s just going to land him on the executioner’s gallows.

“Terezi Pyrope, we are not going to put ourselves in the prime position to get our asses culled all because you have a fetish for justice and red.” You’d argue about how they aren’t fetishes, but that’d be a total lie. “I’m going to pretend that you and your pirate friend didn’t go out and ignore a specific request from me, and you’re going to pretend you behaved and know nothing about this mutant or what’s going on with him. Got it?”

Is he trying to order you? No. That is not happening. You are a mighty legislacerator, and he is your partner. You make the orders around here. “Dave Strider, you are not going to be ordering me around, especially not when it comes to a case I know I can solve.” You stand and glare at him, ignoring the cerulean lightly snoring just a few scalemates away. “I’m going to work on this case, with or without your help. You know as well as I do that I’m cullable even if I don’t take this case on! I’m blind, I’m a liability, if I don’t constantly prove myself worthy of life every night I’m a danger to the gene pool once the drones come ‘round. I understand if you don’t want to help me on this because you don’t want to get killed, and I respect that and won’t make you help me, but you are not going to tell me I can’t do this!”

It isn’t often that you shout or get mad, but what’s going on right now is NOT okay. You aren’t going to make him help you out on this, but there really is no way you’re alright with him trying to tell you you can’t.

He’s clearly surprised about your outburst, and the growing quiet is broken only by Vriska’s complaining. “What’re you shouting about, Pyrope…?” Squeals of plushies in pain signify her standing, and she takes a second to assess the situation before saying, “God damn, Strider, just let the girl do what she wants. You aren’t her moirail, you have no say in her life.”

Wow. Vriska is… Standing up for you. That isn’t something she does. Ever, really. You stare at her, justifiably surprised. The bitch that blinded you, the pirate that steals, the criminal that refuses to lay her old life to rest.

Dave is just as surprised as you, as is obvious by the slight crack in his voice when he talks again. “Nobody asked you for your input, Serket. You’re just the criminal consultant.”

“But she’s right,” you interject, frowning at him. “You aren’t my moirail, Dave. You have no say in what I choose to do.”

“I may not be your freaky-ass moirail thing, but I’m your partner and your friend.”

You roll your eyes and cross your arms, huffing. “And your opinion has been taken into account. It’s been reviewed and thought about and rejected. I’m a legislacerator, I protect the innocent and hang the criminal. Ignoring this is going against everything I’ve learned and all of the morals I was hatched with and everything my lusus has taught me. If you aren’t going to help, then turn around and leave. I’ll go to your place after this case has been taken care of.” Or request that someone goes to his place for her to inform him of her failure and impending execution. But she doesn’t say that portion, not wanting to think of defeat as an option.

He’s quiet for a few seconds, and it’s only then that you realize the blueberry of Vriska has wandered off and is currently raiding your kitchen. Then he sighs and shifts, and you can imagine that he’s rubbing the bridge of his nose, thoroughly irritated. “Okay, fine. I’ll help with this. But only because we’re friends. The moment this starts to look rough or like he’s dead anyways, pull out. That’s not an order or anything, it’s just a request. But if you don’t drop it…” He takes a breath, as though trying to steady himself, then goes on. “I’ll keep with you no matter what, alright?”

He will? You stare at him for a few seconds, trying to comprehend what just happened. Did he just say that not only will he help, but he’ll stick with you even if things start to go downhill?

“Awww, Daaave…!” You grin wide, attacking him with a hug and licking his cheek. He really can be sweet sometimes, huh? Sometimes you forget that, with how often he covers his emotions with his stoic facade.

He takes your licking like a man and doesn’t complain, only casually wiping the opaque teal from his cheek as though it happens all the time. Which is kind of true. You do tend to lick him a lot. “Yeah, I got it, I’m the best partner in this universe.” He smirks just a little bit, and you can smell the cocky radiating off him. Sometimes he can have a bit of a big head. “When’re we going to see this kid?”

You take a second to think - and to check on Vriska, who is still in your damn fridge - then shrug. “Why not now? We have no case currently, and he’s only got a certain amount of time before the court calls him guilty and he’s hanged. We need to get moving.” You move your attention from your partner to your consultant, shouting to you kitchen, “Come on, Serket! You can raid my kitchen later, we have a troll to visit!”

“So you got him to agree?” Vriska sounds way more surprised than you would have liked. Does she really not have that much faith in your ability to convince? Nah, she probably just expected Dave to be more stubborn about things. He really is stubborn. You just know how to worm through it and make him crack.

“Yeah. She somehow managed to convince me that this harebrained scheme is actually going to somehow work and not land her on the culling block. That and I don’t want her getting herself into anything this serious when her only backup is a criminal. She needs someone that’s actually trained and trustworthy.” The distrust in his voice is evident, and you roll your eyes. Of course he doesn’t trust her. Granted, you don’t fully trust her, either. She DID kind of blind you. And kill one of your childhood friends.

Before the two of them can start to fight, you turn and head for the door. “Come on, wrigglers. I’m not playing auspistice for you two dolts. We’ve got actual important business to deal with that doesn’t require your totally NOT platonic hate for each other.” Before they can argue with you about it being very much platonic, you’re out the door and on your way to the mutant’s cell.

You have lots of work to be done, and it’s all only just started. Things are going to get interesting, and they’re going to stay interesting, until this is all done and over with. You cannot wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry it's short please don't hate me


	4. Chapter 4

It doesn’t take all that long for the three of you to be back at the holding cells, and the blueblooded guard there doesn’t question the three of you strolling in. Either he doesn’t care, or he’s friends with the guard from when you let Vriska out of her cell and knows to not mess with you. You almost always get your way. That’s just a fact.

“Vriska, please try to not scare the shit out of him this time. Once is enough, I’m sure.” You can tell she’s pouting about that, but you don’t care. You need him to cooperate, not be too scared to say anything. You don’t know what it is she did, but you do appreciate it. It got him to at least let you do what you want to do.

When the three of you finally get to Karkat’s cell, your nose is assaulted by the harsh licorice smell of someone new. This must be the guy who’s supposed to defend him. He certainly doesn’t smell trustworthy. But then again, he’s one of the appointed attorneys. As in, he does this because he’s told to, not because he wants to. The kind that’s only in it for the money. Great. Your nose wrinkles at the thought of having to work with this guy, but the strangled noise of Karkat recognizing you and Vriska makes you feel a bit better.

Okay, that’s a lie. It makes you feel a LOT better.

“And just who would this new posse be?” He has a harsh voice, and with every word you can practically taste the smoke on his breath. A heavy smoker, then. With a sting of alcohol. Totally not the kind of guy you want to work with.

“Aw, Karkat, you didn’t tell him about us? How ruuuuuuuude!” You can hear the pout in Vriska’s voice and the eyeroll in Dave’s silence.

This is going to be wonderful.

“I didn’t fucking think you would actually come back!”

“Watch it, mutant. Don’t forget our little chat from yesterday.” She snaps right back at him, and that makes you even more curious about what happened. But you know there’s no way you’re going to find out, so you force yourself to not linger on it.

You step forward, your head turning from Karkat to the licorice man. “Legislacerator Pyrope. I took this case on unofficially because it interested me. I hope you don’t have a problem.” You don’t address him. Not because you don’t know how to but simply because you don’t want to. The vibes you get aren’t good. Your gut doesn’t agree with him.

It’s clear this guy doesn’t like you, either, so it’s balanced out. Good. “What makes you think I wanna work with you? You’re blind, doll, you’re staring practically a foot to the right of me. What makes you think a blind girl can do this better?” He’s smirking to himself, and you hear Dave’s jaw pop from him clenching it so hard.

“The fact that I’m a proper Legislacerator and you’re an appointed attorney with no clients of your own.” You smile sweetly at him, planting the tip of your cane to the ground with a ‘tink’ and leaning on it. If he’s going to try playing this game, he isn’t going to win.

“Hey, Tez, are you sure this it-“

“It’s worth it, Dave.” You know the human well enough to know what he’s going to ask. Having to deal with this asshole is just going to make things more interesting. Plus, even if you don’t like him, having an extra brain may be useful.

Maybe.

Based on the attorney’s silence, you can guess you pissed him off with that one. Good.

There’s the sound of several popping and cracking joints, then a growl. “Fine. Y’can work with me. Let’s talk.”

“Sounds good! We can talk about-“

He cuts Vriska off with what you’re assuming is a glare, since there isn’t actually anything said for a good couple of seconds.

“It’s just gonna be that blind girl, me, and my dumbass of a client here. You two aren’t necessary for this. Out.”

“But-“

“Dave, don’t argue. We need him working with us.” You turn back to ‘look’ at him, hoping he can feel your glare through two sets of lenses. He may be different without your ‘posse’ behind you, too. And hopefully Karkat will loosen up some without Vriska around.

Said cerulean grumbles, then stomps out of the cell and into the hallway. Dave stays for a few seconds longer before following her out, and immediately you hear a ‘quiet’ argument going on. For once they’re trying to be quiet. Weird.

“Alright, it’s just the three of us. My criminal consultant would say let’s get this threesome going, but my humor isn’t as raunchy. Usually.” You turn your sugary grin to Karkat, and he makes a noise. You can hear him shift in his chair. Cute.

“So, Legislacerator Pyrope,” the attorney begins, saying your name with maximum faux respect, “What should I be calling you? Don’t expect it to be Legislacerator, either. You say that and I’ll just call ya doll the whole time. I may anyways.”

If he calls you ‘doll’ any more than he already has, you may have to beat him with your cane. “Terezi. Just Terezi. And what about you, licorice man?”

“Slick.” His response is tense, and it just makes your grin spread wider. “Not licorice man. M’name’s Jack Noir, but I go by Slick in this ring. So that’s what you’re gonna call me. Got it, doll?”

“Roger that. Now then, what did you want to discuss?”

“This case. I need to win this. That’s the only way I’m getting money. I don’t care if this asshole here dies later or not, I just need to win this case.”

“Nice to know I’ve got such a fucking determined defense on my side. I feel real safe. What do you think I should have for my final meal?” The strain in Karkat’s voice isn’t from your presence, and you know it. Poor guy. You really do feel sorry for him. He’s pitiful.

“Anything you like, ‘cause there’s no Goddamn way we’re winning this case even if you didn’t do it. You’ve got off-spectrum blood and the crime scene is pretty damn convincing. You’re dead, kid. Get over it.”

“Shut up, Slick.” You aren’t going to have him undoing what you and Vriska worked on. No way are you going to let him make Karkat believe he’s doomed. “I don’t care whether you think this is a losing case or not, I’ve never once lost a case in my career, and I’m not planning on breaking that streak anytime soon. Especially not for a case like this. I don’t let innocents get hurt.” Even if you have to step around Slick, you’ll solve this case. He doesn’t seem like he’s going to be of any help during this case.

So much for ‘two heads are better than one’. But at least you’ve still got your partner and criminal consultant. Losing a shitty attorney isn’t going to damage your team’s strength in the least.

“Y’don’t believe me? Fine then. Let’s go to the crime scene. It’s still roped off with everything there. They decided they didn’t need to collect anything, since it was clear enough. Leave your groupies here. Or send them back home. I don’t give a shit so long as they aren’t here.”

You roll your eyes and turn on your heel, walking to the door and opening it. Throughout the conversation, you were able to hear the other two quietly arguing with each other, but that stops the moment you open the door. “Hey, Slick says to go home. He’s taking me to the crime scene, and he’s a picky asshole that says it’s just going to be the two of us.”

“Fuck no, we aren’t just going to leave you with a shady guy like that. He looks like a mobster, Tez.”

“I have to agree with Dave on this one. As much as I really don’t want to.”

“Ugh, just go back to my place or separate or something. Don’t do anything illegal, Serket. I need you for this case. Got it? Now shoo!”

You don’t give them the chance to argue back, shutting the door right after saying that and turning back to the two you’re currently working with. “So! Let’s get going. I take it Karkat’s staying here?”

“What, do you really think they’re going to let me go see the scene of the murder I supposedly committed? They don’t want to give me any kind of information on this besides ‘you killed a high-ranking blueblood and are going to die for it’.”

“So that’s a yes. Got it.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH HEY LOOK AT WHO ACTUALLY UPDATED

It wasn’t very long at all between telling Vriska and Dave to go home and being taken to the crime scene. There was a lot of somethings off once the two of you are there, and it had nothing to do with the ominous vibe you got from Slick. Nothing smelled quite right about the crime scene.

“You’re sure nobody’s moved anything? Nothing’s been collected or tampered with?”

Slick shrugs, and you roll your eyes. Well that was helpful.

“Look, doll, I ain’t got my eyes on this place all hours. The guys that collected my client were pretty damn certain it was him, so why would they bother with actually doing proper shit? We all know this government’s corrupt beyond belief. I’ve got friends with cleaner backgrounds.” So this guy really is shady. Lovely. But you at least know he wouldn’t be against you in this case: he wants the money from a winning case, after all.

That doesn’t mean you won’t keep him on a list for later, though. “Alright. I’ll trust you on this, licorice man.” He makes a growling sound but doesn’t say anything. “I’ll tell you once I’m done with looking around the place.”

And just like that, you go off to investigate the crime scene. Within just a few seconds of thorough investigating, you can tell why the place smells off. This isn’t a crime scene. Not a proper one. This was staged. A murder still happened here, but it wasn’t a murder committed by one Karkat Vantas. Everything pointed towards him to the untrained eye - or even a trained one that was ignoring all the signs because it worked in their favor to do so.

Something is very much not right here, and you plan on getting to the bottom of it. Now that you really know for a fact that Karkat is innocent, you’re hellbent on proving him that way. Because otherwise that means an innocent dies and a criminal gets away with literal murder.

You sniff and search for a long time, able to smell Slick in the background hovering and judging. You pay him no mind. There’s several things you take note of. Mental note, that is.

The bush outside holds the bloodied murder weapon, the glass inside the hive from the broken window holds red blood, the blue blood on the floor suggests the victim - Ernist Lillur, a highly-ranked Executioner with very blue blood - had been standing before having his neck sliced, his knuckles were scraped up from an assumed fight with his assailant, his recuperacoon had been knocked over from what you’re assuming is the same fight that scraped up his knuckles and ended his life, there’s footprints inside and made out of said slime from the knocked over ‘coon. So many of those things didn’t connect right with you. Two things in particular really weren’t right.

The mutant blood on the glass doesn’t smell like pure blood. It doesn’t smell like old blood, either. There’s blood in the mixture, but there’s something else that smells like a dye of some sort. Someone tried to make it look like mutant blood, but it certainly doesn’t smell like it.

Ernist was a “STRONG” blueblood, like most of that caste are, and Karkat isn’t the buffest of trolls. And yet, there’s no bruising on him that you could smell. Nothing on him to suggest he got into a fight as violent as this one must have been.

“Alright, I need to go back and talk to my partners now.” You turn, knowing Slick was still watching you.

He takes a few seconds to respond, his eyes narrowed and scrutinizing as though he’s trying to figure out how the fuck you manage to do anything. “Right then.”

Soon enough, you’re back in your hive, pacing as Dave and Vriska relax in different scalemate piles.

“It was staged.”

“You’re jumping to conclusions again, Tez.”

“No, hang on. Let’s hear her out. She’s almost always right.”

“If you two start fighting, I’m locking you both in a room with my scalemates while I solve this case.” You stop pacing to glare at each of them individually.

They stay silent.

You continue. “The crime scene was staged. Mostly. Lillur most definitely died, but it wasn’t at Karkat’s hands. The only whiff of red I got was the ‘blood’ on the glass - nothing else clinging to any of the furniture or the victim’s body. The ‘blood’ on the glass wasn’t even proper blood.”

“Terezi, you’re sounding like Kanaya.”

“Shush you, there’s a difference. I don’t drink blood, I merely smell it. And we’re not bringing her into this, either.” You send her a look again, and you can feel her eyes avert your gaze.

“What’s going on with-“

“This is not gossip hour, Dave! This is crime-solving hour! Now! Back to the case!” From then on, you relay information that you figured out from the case. And any time one of the two tried to interrupt you, you just talked over them until they shut up and let you continue.

Once you’re done, Vriska poses a very good question: “What about his assistant saying he saw Karkat?”

“Wait, what assistant?” Dave is clearly confused, as he should be. He wasn’t there to hear the tape. You choose to ignore his question for now.

“The murder happened during the day, which means that this guy says he supposed saw Karkat leaving during the daytime. Which means several other things. One: This assistant guy has made himself a suspect. Two: How do we know his eyes weren’t being tricked? We’re heavily nocturnal creatures. Our eyes aren’t properly adjusted for the daytime.”

“Now I know y’all aren’t just ignoring me.”

“Oh no, we are. Hush up, Strider, Terezi and I are onto something here.” You can smell the smirk on Vriska’s blue lips, and you roll your eyes.

Seems like you have to explain what’s going on here for Dave to not get all whiny. “After you left when we first found out about the case, Vriska played the tape that got her intrigued with the case in the first place. One of the two trolls mentioned how Lillur’s assistance says he supposedly saw Karkat leaving the hive after the murder.”

“Alright… So… What does this mean now? Well, it means-“

You’re interrupted by a phone going off, and before you can get to it, Vriska’s already answering.

“Terezi, it’s that shitty attorney your candy-boy was given.” She holds the phone out for you, smirk equipped, and you take it with a roll of your eyes.

“What is it, Slick?”

“We’ve got court tomorrow night. I just heard about it now. I ain’t pleased, but we don’t get to choose when we go.”

You don’t say anything. You’re too stunned to. They’re really trying to get Karkat dead, aren’t they? After another second - and Slick saying “Doll?” more than a few times - you finally respond. “Right then. Well, you best be ready to plea for more time. I’ve got a suspect, but there isn’t any proof to really say it wasn’t Karkat. An alibi and a blind girl’s suspicions aren’t going to stop the steamroller of casteist court.

“So you mean you’ve actually made progress? We may actually have a chance of winning?”

“Yep.” You hang up then, figuring there’s no point in continuing that conversation anymore. The next thing out of Slick’s mouth probably would’ve been some comment about how he’s surprised you managed to figure out anything with how your nose was against everything. You get those comments enough from others, you don’t need to add someone to that list.

Dave’s the first one to ask a question, suspicion in his voice. “Tez… What was that?”

“That, Dave, was Slick saying I’ve gotta go talk to Karkat once the sun comes out. He’s got court tomorrow night, and I need to discuss a few things with him before that can happen.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i did all of this in one go today


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess what's back from the dead? Now that Danger Close is over, I'll be able to focus more wholly on this.
> 
> Check the end notes for translations in case you can't understand Meenah.

It was a pain in the ass, but you eventually convinced Dave and Vriska that it would be for the best if you went to speak with the mutant alone. It may have been easier if you had Vriska around, but if you agreed to taking her and not Dave then it would’ve led to him complaining. You’re not in the mood for dealing with either of them complaining.

Besides, with them stuck alone maybe they’ll figure out whatever black feelings they have for each other. That would certainly make life easier for you.

Once you’re at the building, you shuck your coat, blowing on your grey skin a bit to get it to cool down. Even though you can’t get burned through the fabric, it certainly felt like you were being cooked. Damn sun-sensitive skin.

“The fuck do you want?” The harsh voice of your defendant greets you the moment his door is opened, and you grin. He’s awake. That’s good. You don’t have to go through the process of waking him up and dealing with whatever kind of grouch he is upon waking - because, honestly, everyone’s an asshole when they’re woken up.

“We need to talk, Karkat.” You would use the fun little nickname you came up with when you first met him, but this meeting just doesn’t seem playful enough. You don’t want him to be pissy with you, either. You need him to cooperate. “You have court when the sun goes down, and we aren’t prepared in the slightest.”

He snorts and rolls his eyes, giving no shits like you expected. “So what? That isn’t a surprise. You could have all the evidence in the universe and I’d still be convicted.”

Even though you expected this, you’re still annoyed by it. “I have a hunch as to who the actual killer is. And I’m not going to let him go free because you give no shits about whether you live or not. Besides, I’m interested in you. You seem like the kinda troll I’d like to get to know more, but that can’t exactly happen with you in custody and in line for the culling block. So call me selfish, but I’m not going to let you die.” None of that was a lie; there’s much more to him than his blood and his ancestor that you’re intrigued by. You’ve never met someone as blatantly defensive asshole as him, and that makes you curious.

You want to crack him open and pull apart his gooey innards, find what makes your chest ache in something you’re afraid to call pity.

He smells confused, surprised, defiant and… Afraid? Maybe he isn’t as ready for death as he likes others to think.

“Fuck you, fine. I’ll work with you, but ONLY so you don’t set your psychobitch counterpart on me again.” He sounds pissy about it, but you know he could’ve put up a more serious resistance. It’s obvious enough that Vriska isn’t with you, anyways, so he had no need to cave if he really is afraid of you setting her on him again.

You decide to not comment on any of that, glad to just have him working with you. Maybe he’ll finally start to do that without you having to berate him. That would be great. “You just need to buy us time. Convince the judge that waiting would be interesting because a new revelation should show in the case. Anything at all to convince them that we need-“ You stop yourself, then grin. “Have you given a confession to anything?”

“What? Fuck no I haven’t, I don’t have a damn thing to confess to.”

“That’s all we need. The system may be completely and utterly shitty with a skewered version of justice, but if they haven’t taped you confessing to the crime, then they can’t convict without very solid proof. The ‘very solid proof’ really just lies in the hands of the judge, but that’s something can only hope about.”

“Is that seriously all you can do for me?”

You scowl at him, crossing your arms. “It’s more than most trolls get.”

He seems to get that there isn’t anything else to be done between now his court tomorrow, so he settles down with a grumbled thanks. You’ll take it, though. It’s more than what he’s given you so far.

You leave shortly after that - of course giving him a goodbye lick and enjoying the sounds of him sputtering and cursing at you - making your way back to your hive. Dave and Vriska are fast asleep on opposite piles, and you opt for one between the two of them before quickly falling asleep. Stress hardly ever keeps you awake once you hit the soft plushness of your criminal dragons.

When evening comes, you head for court. You aren’t able to speak, but you can at least be there to listen to the proceedings go down. Make sure Noir doesn’t fuck anything up too much. Use what the plaintiff says to learn the case and work ways to twist their words for Karkat’s advantage. Vriska and Dave are here as well, sitting on either side of you.

For once, they’re actually dressed well enough. Not formal - you can’t Vriska in anything formal and can’t imagine Dave willingly wearing something formal for anything but his wedding - but a nice business casual. Like you. Your outfit for court typically stands out, screaming your blood color and your favorite color in the most delightful mixture of teal and red, but tonight you go for a simple teal button-up shirt and nice black slacks. The attention isn’t on you, after all. It won’t be beneficial to distract anyone with your blinding colors and eccentric taste in fashion.

The first thing you notice is that the troll acting as plaintiff - Mr. Saffir Wralle - is not here.

When the judge - one Ms. Meenah Peixes, the Heiress that doesn’t want the crown - questions, the lawyer merely responds with, “Mr. Wralle is sure enough in the verdict that he does not believe he needs to be here. He is a busy man, after all, with things to settle after the loss of his boss.”

Curious.

That wasn’t a smart move on Mr. Saffir Wralle’s part.

You pay close attention to the whole trial, noting how every time Noir would attempt to talk the human lawyer would merely cut him off. At one point, Karkat snapped and called him out on it. The room immediately got tense, the air turning electric as everyone waited for the Heiress’s response.

“Whale now, ya’ve got a point, Crabby McShouty. Hey, human whats-your-face, stick a fork in it for more than a couple’a seconds and let the defendant’s lawyer get a chance. I pike havin’ fairness in my trials. Makes ‘em more interfishin’.”

It sounds like she’s enjoying herself. Like she wants something interesting to happen. You grin and lean back in your chair, already certain that tonight isn’t going to be the end of it all. If she’s calling out something like the plaintiff’s lawyer speaking over the mutant “killer”’s lawyer and claiming she likes fairness in her trials, there’s no way she’s going to call Karkat guilty in this murder without a confession.

As the rest of the trial goes on, you can feel as the energy on either side of you gets antsy. Your partners don’t enjoy sitting for too long. They never have, and you’re sure that’ll never change. You would let them leave, but the case is getting wrapped up. It was all the evidence you’ve already heard about, except each piece of evidence ended in a, “So clearly, Mr. Karkat Vantas here is the killer,” and that got real irritating real fast.

When the lawyer was done, there was no time wasted before the judge gave her verdict. “The proof may be against Crabby McShouty, but law states a conchfision is manaraytory for any kind of arrest or execution, regardless of crime supposedly done.”

“But, Ms. P-“ The lawyer was clearly trying hard, stumbling over his words just to get cut off by her.

“Don’t ya DARE call me that, it makes me sound old. And don’t ‘but’ me neither, law is law and if you fight me I’ll have a personal trial with you AND your client’s asses for breakin’ more than a few rules in my court. Now scram, all ya bassholes! I’m bored of this shit.”

So you scram.

Vriska is the most eager to get out of the courtroom, loudly complaining as she leads the way. “God, that was soooooooo booooooooriiiiiiiing! Why did we have to come, Terezi? Seriously! That was torture!”

You roll your eyes, not surprised by any of this. “Because we learned something about the enemy.”

“I swear I was paying attention, but I didn’t learn anything.”

“Dave, you’re lying, you were fidgeting just as much as Vriska was. Honestly, you’re both disappointments.”

“But he’s more of a disappointment than me, right?”

“You’re both just as equally disappointing,” you huff, sending your long-time friend a very telling glare of ‘shut the hell up’. “What you two SHOULD have learned is that the judge is on our side. She wants a fair trial, and our dear friend Mr. Wralle is already on her bad side for not showing up. She’s automatically going to be biased in our favor because of that. We have a good chance of winning this.”

You hadn’t been too sure before. You were worried, knowing the odds were so against Karkat. But with Meenah Peixes as the judge, there isn’t so much to worry about anymore. She seems to like Karkat well enough, too, coming up with a nickname for him that so wholly encompassed his personality without severely insulting him.

This case is going to be won. Your reputation will remain unstained, you will have upheld true justice, Karkat will live while the true killer hangs. Things are going to go your way, you’re sure of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whale = Well  
> pike = like  
> interfishin' = interesting  
> conchfishion = confession  
> manarayotry = mandatory  
> bassholes = assholes
> 
> I got a good amount of inspiration from this amazing Tumblr: http://homestuckresources.tumblr.com/post/40973385584/fish-pun-list-4-rpers
> 
> for the amount of time i took to find fishy puns and to match meenah's character better there are surprisingly few things to put here  
> dunno if that means i missed anything tho  
> oh well just lemme know if i did and i'll update this


	7. Chapter 7

It’s midnight when you get your next call, and you are more than happy to take it because you were previously being forced to play as auspistice to your two best friends to keep them from getting into anything. Vriska wouldn’t hesitate to go black for him, you’re sure of it at this point, but Dave doesn’t understand the quadrants - most humans don’t and never care to. Your two species may co-exist, but they hardly ever intermingle because of the romance differences between the two cultures.

“We’ve got someone here trynna get my client to confess to the murder, and he ain’t letting me stop him. You’ve got your scary bitchfriend with ya, right? Bring her and get this guy to scram.”

“At this rate, Karkat’s more of my client than yours considering I seem to do most of the work. You’re just the show lawyer,” you snort. His silence is proof that he’s annoyed, and so you continue on. “We’ll be there shortly. Don’t let Karkat say anything at all, if this guy’s so desperate to get a confession then he’ll latch onto anything given to him. Keep his mouth shut because we both know how volatile he is.” Even though it makes you more curious about him, he doesn’t need to spout something unnecessary and land his ass in hotter water.

So you shout for your two partners, not wanting to waste any time with trying to wrap up their petty bickering, leaving your hive at a brisk pace. They’ll catch up. They always catch up.

On the way there, you inform them of what’s going on. Vriska is very into this new development; Dave is hesitant. But either way, they’re both on your side and ready to see how this plays out.

When you reach Karkat’s holding cell, you can easily hear Slick yelling. Oh boy. Things have gotten out of hand. You need to wrap things up quickly, otherwise you’re sure it won’t stay this ‘civilized’ for much longer. You tug the door open and step inside, raising an eyebrow at the scene your nose is greeted by. Karkat is leaning back in his seat, silently simmering in anger. Slick’s chair is toppled on the ground and his hands are on the table - you’re pretty sure he was literally spitting in rage because you’re pretty sure that’s some saliva you’re smelling. The mystery troll is on the other side of the table, sitting calmly with his arms folded.

A typical blueblood.

“Slick, sit your ass back down and collect yourself,” you bark, knowing you need to immediately assert your dominance. Bluebloods are difficult trolls to deal with.

“And who might you be?”

Your lips pull taut in a cold, cruel grin, and you give a sarcastic bow - something you know irritates the hell out of the hemocaste-loving blues - before standing up straight. “Legislacerator Pyrope. Slick has requested my assistance on this case. There isn’t a problem with that, is there? After all, there aren’t any laws against it.”

The blueblood’s eyes narrow, and you can smell as his body tenses. “No, there aren’t, but I can’t imagine anyone wanting to help a losing case for free.”

“What makes you so certain that it’s a losing case?” You stroll over to Karkat and casually lean against him, your arm resting on his shoulder. He makes a grumbling kind of sound and looks away, sulking more in his seat. “I personally believe he is very innocent.”

“Then have fun trying and failing to prove that,” he spits.

You hope Slick is taking mental notes on how to deal with these types. He could certainly learn this. “What are you doing here, Mr…?”

“Wralle,” he growls, “I was Ernist’s assistant before that mutant-“

“The defendant, Mr. Vantas,” you calmly correct.

You’re fairly certain you hear a tooth crack with how hard his clenching his jaw. “Before that mutant-“

“The defendant, Mr. -“

“Decided to slit his throat,” he finishes, his voice louder and more strained as he clearly tries to talk over you.

You’re thoroughly enjoying this, but Karkat isn’t. He smells terrified. More scared than before, in fact. It must be because of how angry you’re making this Mr. Wralle. You should wrap this up and get this asshole out of here before Karkat completely shuts down or explodes.

“All I needed was your name and how you knew the victim. Now, why are you here trying to force a confession from Mr. Vantas? That is very illegal, as I’m sure you know. Huge caste difference or no huge caste difference.”

“I’m merely trying to speed up the process. We all know it was him.” He’s slowly regaining his composure, taking deeper and slower breaths to control his rage. He must be close to having indigo in his veins - a very highblooded troll indeed.

Your grin never wavers, and you gesture to the door with your cane - where Vriska and Dave immediately scurry into the room and out of the path he’d be taking when he leaves. “Regardless of the defendant’s innocence or guilt, forcing a confession is still illegal. So I must ask you to leave.”

The blueblood is seething as he pushes up from his seat and storms out, and you give Vriska a look.

“Want me to tail the guy?”

“Please do.”

“Right away, boss,” she grins, giving a half-assed salute before slipping out the door and down the hallway.

You grin down at Karkat and pat his chest lightly, snickering. “There, fixed the problem.” Your blind gaze turns to Slick, who has been silently sitting in his chair, sulking like a child that was denied a treat he didn’t even really deserve. “Didja learn a thing or two, Slick?”

“Shut up, doll,” he growls, “Ya did a fine job but I would’ve rather just stabbed the guy. Wouldn’t have to deal with his ass again.”

“I realized as much when I heard you screeching your old wheezy voice. I got here at the right time.” You grin wide, and you can smell the glare on his expression. “If Wralle shows up again, that’s how you need to handle him. Bring up what the judge said, too. How she wants this trial fair and how she’s already annoyed with him for not being at the trial at all. It’ll keep him in line.”

“This is all fine and fucking dandy, but could you PLEASE get the fuck off me now? I’m not your Goddamned elbow-rest,” Karkat huffs, his fear turned to anger. He’s a grouchy one, but that doesn’t bother you.

You snicker at his request and pat him again before shifting your weight to instead be leaning on your cane. “You make such a great podium, but fine. Just for you,” you snicker, leaning down to run your tongue along his cheek. He sputters and lights up red, wiping your saliva from his cheek before turning his back to face you, arms crossed. You merely cackle at him, lips stretched thin in a wide grin.

Dave snorts from behind, a slight smirk on his lips. “You get used to it, dude. She did it to me all the damn time when we first met.”

“How about you shut the fuck up, ‘dude’? She shouldn’t be going around sticking her fucking tongue on everything like some untrained barkbeast with a mental disability! Fuck both of you!”

“I mean, I’m down for-“

“OH MY GOD!” Karkat practically screeches, and you’re set off on another spree of cackling at how easily Dave managed to piss him off. Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. And the scents you’re getting from this whole exchange make you grin all the more. Karkat definitely isn’t going to be getting away from you anytime soon. No way are you going to let that happen.

Slick breaks the moment up with a rough-sounding cough. “As fun as it is to watch you rile up my client, I’m gonna have to ask you to leave. I’ve got a fuck of a headache that only booze can fix, and listening to you brats ain’t helping in the slightest.”

You roll your eyes at him, wondering how he even managed to get into the system. “Yeah, sure, whatever, Slick. I’ll be back once we have information. And remember, if Wralle comes back, don’t get in his face. Try not to get annoyed at all. Bluebloods feed off of that, especially ones that are so close to indigo.”

He merely waves you off, so with a slight huff you turn on your heel and march out, Dave’s footsteps following after you.

Back at your hive, you and Dave are relaxing in a pile, having something like a feelings jam that isn’t quite pale enough to make you moirails. You’re nestled against each other with your husktop playing some stupid detective movie parody that Dave picked out, and Dave’s mumbling shit under his breath about how it could’ve been done better and you’re just snickering at all of the basic mistakes the movie makes when it comes to the law system.

The two of you are essentially just shitting on a movie cuddled up together, and it’s one of your favorite pastimes. After all, there’s nothing you can be doing right now. Not without information from Vriska.

She shows up towards the end of the movie, when the moon is starting to set, and you smell confidence on her blueberry lips.

“Looks like your gut was right again! There was nothing out of the ordinary,” she announces, strutting inside and kicking the door shut with her foot. There’s a moment of disgust on her features when she takes in the scene she walked in on, but she chooses to ignore it.

That’s smart. There’s something you would rather be talking about than what you and Dave are doing in a pale-but-not-quite-pale embrace.

“That doesn’t mean I was right, Vriska. That means I was-“

“Nothing out of the ordinary, Terezi,” she cuts you off, “Think about it. This guy’s boss - likely the boss he’s worked under for sweeps and was probably pretty close with - has just died. And he isn’t doing anything out of the ordinary. He’s just doing nightly work as if nothing has changed.”

“Your criminal’s got a point, Tez,” Dave chimes in, slowly moving so that the two of you are just sitting normally and not cuddling up. You miss the heat already. “He should be mourning. You trolls act like hardasses, but you still mourn like every other living creature.”

“Thanks for the input,” you snort, rolling your eyes. “Yeah, you’ve got a point. Vriska, could you trail him for a bit longer? Wear those camera glasses you’ve got, too. I know you still have them.” She was supposed to get rid of them as part of her contract with you - a contract you didn’t write up, otherwise you would’ve allowed her to keep them - but you know she never did.

“But I-“

“Don’t even. I know you’ve still got it. Use it.”

She nods, then comes over to the pile and flops down, right in the small space between you and Dave. Ah, jealousy, the things it makes trolls do. Seems it’s time for you to act as auspistice between the two again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> boopadoop don't remember if i spelled auspistice right and i'm too lazy to look it up


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a while! I mean, not too long considering some of the waits y'all have had to do before... And I'm sorry it isn't all that long, but I figured this would be an alright enough place to end it. I'm gonna get right to work on the next chapter though, just because I wanna keep going. ^u^

The next night, Vriska is out as the sun sets. For someone that enjoys bitching and complaining, she gets shit done and is a pretty damn ambitious troll. You admire her for that. She’s going to whine and complain and demand for a reward once this is all over with, but honestly she’s going to deserve it so you don’t mind all that much. Dave may, but he’s not the one that’s in charge of her so he doesn’t get much say.

“What’s the plan? Break? Please?” Dave’s on his back on one of your piles of scalemates, his shades sliding so you can just barely smell the candy of his eyes. The only time he’s lax about his aviators is when Vriska isn’t around.

You grin and poke him with your cane, already to get going. “Justice never takes a break when an innocent life is on the line! We’re gonna go get to know Karkles a little more.”

He makes a face, letting his facade of stoic coolness fall. “That has nothing to do with this case and everything to do with your kink for red.”

“Hush up and get your ass moving.”

There’s a few seconds that he just groans, over-dramatic as Vriska (but you could never tell him that, he’d piss himself), then he finally rolls off the pile and stands. “You’re lucky I feel the need to make sure you don’t get yourself into any shit. Otherwise I’d be staying here taking a much deserved break.” He doesn’t sound too annoyed anymore though, even going to lengths to toss a scalemate your way.

You giggle and catch it, giving it a rough hug before tossing it to a nearby pile. “I know, I have the greatest partner. You do a good job of taking care of me.” You swipe your tongue up his cheek real quick before turning and heading out, a happy bounce in your step.

Dave had been close when he accused you of only wanting to go see Karkat because of his blood color, but he had missed the most important bit: you want to get to know the angry mutant so you know whether this really is pity squeezing your blood pusher or if it’s something else. You’re fairly certain it’s the former, but a good Legislacerator always makes sure she has absolute proof before making a bold statement.

Especially a statement as bold as harboring red feelings for a mutant.

The moment you walk into Karkat’s cell, you’re greeting by Slick. “Ya got some information, doll?”

“Some, old man.” He grimaces, and you grin. “Wralle is suspicious, so I’ve got Vriska continuing to tail him. As of right now, he’s my number one suspect.”

“That’s not somethin’ we can work with,” he grunts, his eyes following you as you move to lean against Karkat. You’re behind him, elbows on his shoulders and your chin on his head, between his two cute nubby horns. “So why the fuck’re you here?”

“To be a nuisance,” Karkat growls, picking up on what you want to do immediately. He tries to swat at you, but you merely head-butt his hand, making a game out of it. “It’s fucking working.”

“Hey man, just let the lady do what she wants to do. There’s no telling her ‘no’.”

“Fuck off.”

Slick groans and stands, and you hear joints cracking as he stretches. “Right, so I’m gonna go get some actual business taken care of. You kids enjoy yourselves.” And then he walks out, reeking of annoyance.

You grin even more and move your arms to be hugging Karkat, giggling happily. Your nostrils are full of his candy-red scent, his heat radiates around him like Dave’s does, and he’s simmering in anger so deliciously. “So Karkles~ Tell me about yourself.”

“Why the hell should I?” He sinks into his seat but doesn’t try to pry your arms off him; he probably has learned that there’s no point.

“Because we’re interested,” Dave chimes in, going to take the seat Slick had vacated. He rests his elbows on the table and his chin in his hands, leaning towards the other redblood. “Talk to us. What’re you like, Karkles~?”

You stifle a snicker as Dave starts to mimic you, loving the way Karkat gets angry and flustered. “And why the fuck are you interested? You sadistic bastards just want to get as much entertainment out of my pathetic mutant ass before I’m finally culled, right? Fuck off, both of you.”

His voice is strained with more than just anger, and you feel the tug in your chest again. “You’re an interesting troll in general, Karkat,” you hum, figuring that maybe using his actual name will make him settle down a bit. It works a little, but he’s still tense. “What kind of movies do you watch?” You remember his neighbors talking about that in the audio clip Vriska had. Something about dumbass movies. You aren’t all that curious about it, but maybe if you ask him a specific question about something he likes he’ll open up.

“I only watch the most masterful of all the cinematic masterpieces Alternia has to offer.”

“That’s suspiciously vague.”

“Fuck off, aviator-face.”

You snicker and hug Karkat just a little tighter, able to feel the way he tenses even more as Dave riles him up. He settles down a little. “What kind of cinematic masterpieces? I don’t really watch many things, as I’m sure you can guess.” You’re now legitimately curious. If he’s being vague, then it’s likely something embarrassing.

Based on how the heat he gives off gets more intense and how you can smell the red on his cheeks, you’re going to say that you’re right in it being something embarrassing.

He’s saved from having to answer the question by the door to his cell being practically kicked open and Vriska proudly announcing, “Guess who’s just made himself suspicious!” She kicks the door shut and struts over to the table, completely ignoring the situation.

“Wralle? What’d he do?” You stay exactly where you are, perfectly comfortable leaning against the back of Karkat’s chair and hugging onto him like this.

“I’d tell you to take a look, but you’d spend the next half hour licking the screen. So I’ll just explain it as the video plays. Lemme just… Hook this up…” Vriska busies herself with setting up the screen to display what her glasses filmed, and Karkat quietly attempts to get you off him.

You stubbornly stay in place, nipping his hand when it gets too close to your face. He settles down with a growl but surprisingly doesn’t feel as tense as before. You give his head a little nuzzle, smiling to yourself.

“Already, we’re set up. I caught Wralle sneaking to the victim’s hive and taking down hidden cameras. They were set up inside and outside the hive, and he seemed pretty determined to hide them once they were taken down. I don’t know whether he put them up or if the victim did, but aren’t you supposed to say something if you know there’s something that can be used as evidence?”

“Yes. Yes you are.” You grin, glad you have something solid to use. Sure, the way you got the information wasn’t the most ethical, but this guy isn’t being all that ethical either. It balances out. Nobody ever said justice can’t get dirty. “You take a break. I’m going to take Dave and give Mr. Wralle a nice little visit. May I have the glasses?”

“Yeah, sure, but why can’t I come along?” There’s a distinct pout in her voice as she places the glasses on your head, in front of your horns but nestled behind your ears so they didn’t fall. You can smell Dave’s face flicker from stoic to mildly agitated to stoic once more at the rather pale gesture. “Can’t I come to confront the guy, too?”

You snicker and stand, no longer leaning on Karkat anymore but with your hands still on his shoulders. “You know how highbloods work. You don’t know how to keep your mouth shut. We can’t have this blowing up because you snark at him and he goes berserk.” He may not be full-blooded indigo, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have the ability to go rage mode.

Vriska sighs and rolls her eyes. “Yeah, fine, I guess you’re right. I’m gonna head to your hive then, get a nap while I can. Maybe raid your fridge.” She rolls her shoulders, then heads out. The lack of sass from her means she’s tired, which means she’s likely not going to get into any kind of trouble.

That’s good.

“Alright, come on Dave, we’ve got some interrogating to do.” You give Karkat’s shoulders a slight squeeze before turning and heading out, Dave trailing after you.

He’s suspiciously quiet until you’re outside and walking, when he breaks the silence with something you hadn’t been expecting: “You really seem to like him, huh?” He sounds… Surprisingly down about that.

You frown, able to take a guess at what’s going on, then nudge your shoulder against him. “We’ve talked about this before, remember? We wouldn’t work out. You don’t get troll romance, I don’t get human romance. He’s a troll. A very pitiable troll. Of course I’m going to get into him.” He still smells stressed. “He’s not going to replace you, Dave. I don’t keep you around just because you smell nice.” You lick his cheek and grin, hoping that cheers him up.

It seems to work a little. “He better not. I’m the original candy blood.” It definitely worked if he’s making jokes like that.

“Exactly. You’re still my partner, and that isn’t going to change. Now come on, seriously, we need to get this case wrapped up so I can drag Karkat out on a date.” You pick up your speed to be at a brisk pace, and Dave adjusts easily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> god it's been too long since i did dave i hope to fuck i'm not screwing his characterization too badly


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyyooo, back with Framed being my major project now that I'm done with what was SUPPOSED to be a short project for Miraculous Ladybug. Nearly 3/4 of the way done with the story.

“May I ask what you’re doing in my office and who let you in?” The troll’s voice is tense, his jaw clenched and muscles tense as he glares at you and your human companion. He’s clearly not comfortable with you around.

Good.

“We merely said we were here about the case and were directed to your office by a very kind secretary. I’m still working on this case, so of course I’m going to come to visit you. Especially now that you have some evidence that pertains to the case.” You grin at him, leaning on your cane and completely unaffected by the waves of tension rolling off the troll.

Dave stands behind you, leaning against the closed door and staying silent. You two talked about this; he’s going to stay silent unless it’s absolutely necessary that he steps in. It’s been decided that you’re going to handle this, since you’re better at working this guy’s buttons. Dave’s pretty good at being a nuisance, but you’re practically a master when it comes to bluebloods.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Of course you do, Wralle! My informant saw it with her own eyes. Do I need to jog your memory? Perhaps your gaudily large horns are pressing down on your thinkpan and suppressing your ability to think right.”

He twitches, and you grin more. “Stalking is illegal.”

“Who said she was stalking you? She just happened to see you taking cameras from the victim’s hive. That’s evidence, you know. Evidence you didn’t tell the court about. That’s even more illegal than stalking.”

You smell as all the muscles in his being tense more, and you wonder if you could possibly make him implode. But then this case would never get solved. Karkat would still be culled. You can’t have that happening.

After wrangling his tensions, he finally growls out, “I didn’t know about them until yesterday, when I found paperwork in Ernist’s desk about the security system.”

“So you’ll be showing those in court, right?”

He’s silent, and you can almost hear the sound of his teeth grinding together.

“Why don’t you want to show them in court? It should prove the absolute guilt of my client, after all. Or are you hiding something from us?”

He gets tense again. “I have no reason to be interrogated like this. Leave. I will have you forcibly removed for attempted slander if you don’t go of your own free will.”

You smell Dave tense behind you and talk before he can’t open his mouth. “Fair point, you haven’t proven yourself suspicious enough to be a suspect. Have a good night, Mr. Wralle,” you hum, turning on your heel and gesturing to Dave to open the door. He does, leading the way out, and you prance along behind him.

“What’s the plan from here? We don’t know what are on those tapes. They could-“

“Don’t say it, Strider,” you cut him off, not wanting to hear him say it could show Karkat as guilty. “Those tapes are going to prove Karkat innocent. Wralle would be acting completely differently if they showed Karkat breaking in and killing Lillur. Come on, let’s see if Slick is back where he should be.”

You lead the way at a fast pace, not wanting to give Dave the chance for another ‘what if’ scenario. You’re set on Wralle being the suspect. The only reason he wouldn’t be rubbing the tapes in your faces is because it shows something incriminating about him. He likely wasn’t lying about not knowing about the cameras and really did find out about them recently - the fact that he took them down and is currently hiding them is proof of him being guilty of something.

“So nice to smell you back at work, Slick!” You greet the man with a grin, your nostrils flaring to take in the strong smell of smoke and booze. What an upstanding citizen he is. “We’ve got something important, and I need your slimy ways of handling things to get some tapes we need.”

“I’m listening.” He smells on the defensive, but his words sound intrigued. He must have gotten bored. “Whatcha need, doll?”

“Well, old man, Wralle has found some tapes that he doesn’t seem willing to share with the court. We need those tapes. Don’t bother with checking them before snatching them, I promise they’re going to be interesting.”

He frowns at you, suspicious, then pushes out of his seat with a groan and stretches, cracking a good number of joints. “Yeah, yeah, whatever ya say. I’m just the errand man.” He slinks out without another complaint, and you smell Karkat sink into his seat some more.

His eyes narrow in your direction, and you go to take the spot Slick recently vacated. Dave goes to stand behind you, his chin resting on the top of your head, nestled between your sharp horns.

“Are you sure you guys know what you’re doing?” He’s suspicious and worried. That means he cares about whether he lives, right? That’s a step in the right direction.

You grin and give the honest answer: “Not one bit!”

“Tez, I don’t think that’s something you’re supposed to say.”

“Hush up, he asked and I gave the truth.” You bat your cane behind you, lightly knocking the stick against your partner’s legs. He gives a grunt of mild pain; you give a snort of mild amusement.

Karkat sits quietly and critically, his arms crossed and a scowl set on his face. “So you’re telling me that my life is in the hands of some blind chick and a hipster wannabe that don’t even know what they’re doing? Fuck this shit, can I fire you?”

“Nope,” you snicker.

“Fuck everything,” he grumbles.

Dave pulls his head up, and you lean back to give him a quizzical look. “I’m gonna go make sure your criminal informant isn’t up to anything illegal. You gave her freedom for tonight and I still don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“You need to learn to trust her,” you sigh. There’s no point in trying to argue with him, though. You know there isn’t. “Go ahead, I’m not going to confine you to sticking with me.”

He nods and heads out, and his silence tells you that he’s actually worried she’s up to something. If this case wasn’t so interesting, you would be as well. But you’ve come to trust that Vriska won’t get up to anything illegal when there’s an interesting case like this going on.

You turn your attention back to Karkat, who’s still scowling in his seat. “Being blind doesn’t stop me, you know.”

His scowl deepens. “Why should I believe you? Or even care?”

“Because I’m going to be the one to save your sorry ass. With help from my partner and informant, of course. Certainly not the help of your actual lawyer.”

“Yeah, I’m fucked.” He huffs and sinks into his chair. “May as well just fucking cull me now! Spill my mutant red for all the masses to jeer at! I’m not getting out of this alive.”

You snap a bit. “Do you EVER show ANY kind of gratitude? My entire career is riding on this, I’m not getting paid, I’m not even supposed to be doing this at all! I’m supposed to sit back and watch as an innocent troll gets culled merely because he’s a mutant and being used as a scapegoat! I’m not saying you have to worship the ground I walk or whatever the hell you think I want, but you could at least have a bit of faith in me!”

He sinks into his seat a bit lower, but his scowl loosens and he smells a little apologetic. He doesn’t say anything, though.

So you sigh and rub your temples, cooling yourself off from your momentary anger. It isn’t his fault. He didn’t ask for any of this. You’re just shoving your nose into someone else’s business, as you’re so known for doing. But how could let this case go? He’s the descendant of an infamous rebel, so automatically the trolls higher on the spectrum are going to want him dead. He’s just being used by someone - most likely Wralle - to get away with murder.

But then again, you aren’t much better. You’re just using his existence as a reason to defy the system and hunt for the actual killer. With this case - a mutant versus a high blue - the court usually sides with the high blue without concrete evidence to the contrary. All you want to do here is prove that the system is fucked up and biased, but everyone already knows that. It’s a given that the court is skewed to favor highbloods over anyone else.

So what are you even doing with yourself?

“Hey.” Karkat’s voice drags you out of your mind, sounding just as apologetic as he smells. He isn’t trying to wear a mask right now. “I still think that what you’re doing is a waste of your time and risky as all fuck, but… Thanks, I guess. For trying to get my sorry ass out of the shitty fate destiny has deemed worthy of my color.”

You smell a bit more of his color, suggesting that he’s blushing, and rather than tackle him with a lick you just smile. That’s right. At first, you were just doing this out of curiosity. You wanted to know what the infamous rebel’s descendant was like. Then you wanted to exact proper justice, regardless of what the norm would be. But now you want something else. You want to get to know Karkat some more. Not just because he’s interesting. You’ve come to accept the fact that the pain in your chest is pity for him. You’ve come to accept that after this case, he may not want a damn thing to do with you.

But now you’re doing this case for him, not just for justice.

“Just do what I say and everything should turn out fine, okay? I can’t exactly promise, but this is how all of my cases go. I rarely ever plan anything, but I always win. Nothing beats the nose of true justice.”

He actually snorts at you, and you smell his muscles relax as he starts to feel more comfortable with you around. “You’re fucking weird, you know that?”

You grin. “Yep.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had wanted this chapter to be a bit longer, but it's been a while since I updated so I decided to just leave this as is and immediately start on the next chapter. (I don't know when that one will be done. I'm actually in class right now.)

Karkat was more open after that. He wasn’t exactly buddy-buddy with you or anything, but he wasn’t shutting you out anymore. The two of you snickered over stupid things and talked about how your sense of smell-vision worked, with him obviously being curious about what happened but not wanting to ask. You didn’t tell him. If he’s curious enough, he’ll ask.

You want him to ask, just to show he’s interested in you at least a little bit.

You decide to try to not think about how pathetic you’re getting with your feelings for him.

At least until this case is over with, you can’t let yourself get caught up in pity or anything else. Priority right now is proving his innocence.

“I found the missing troll-girl.” Dave struts in, interrupting your conversation with Karkat without a care in the world. In that same instant, you smell as Karkat goes tense again, on alert. It makes your chest ache. He trusts you on some degree now but can’t trust your partner (or maybe it’s because Vriska’s here and smelling rather annoyed).

You pull a grin on despite your mixed feelings, focusing yourself on the case. “Great! Now we just wait for Slick-“

“Wait’s over, sweetheart, I’ve got the tapes.” He slithers inside, seeming particularly greasy now. He definitely did something illegal to get the recordings. You aren’t going to question him. “Figured I’d wait for these two to get in so I didn’t have to wait in here with you two yappers.”

Ignoring his stab at you and Karkat’s talkativeness, you keep your grin. “Then put them in!”

“You sure this is a good idea?” Dave’s clearly nervous about this, even if his face smells as stoic as ever. “Can this even be used as evidence?”

“Shush, you. It’ll prove something. Besides! What we did is just as obscure legality-wise as what Wralle was planning on doing with it.” That’s a flat-out lie, but hopefully if this proves something the judge isn’t going to care about how it was obtained and it’ll still count as evidence either to prove Karkat innocent - and hopefully prove Wralle as guilty. “Also, someone describe it to me. I’ve dealt with plenty of security tapes before and know that my smell-o-vision does not play well with it.”

“I’ve got it.” Vriska speaks up, probably trying to win your favor by doing it instead of letting Dave. You personally don’t care who does it so long as you know what happens.

One of the tapes goes in, and everyone in the small cell settles down to watch. Vriska sits next to you, mumbling the scene being shown: “Exterior camera. Faces the front door, perfect shot of the front door and the window Karkat supposed went through. Dave, speed up until- wait, nevermind, he’s shown up. Our friend goes to the door… And he’s gone in. Dave, speed it up until he comes back out. One hour… Wait- Wait- He’s out now. Aaaand there goes the glass. Just busted it in with the butt of the sickle. Where the hell did that sickle even come from? Lillur must’ve had that in his hive somewhere. He didn’t go in with it. Sickle is now in the bush, by the way, and he’s doing a pretty half-assed job at hiding it. Back inside now, probably to put the fake blood on the glass - we can confirm that with one of the other tapes - Dave, fast forward it. Not as fast, though. It wouldn’t take as long to add fake blood to glass as it would to take down a blueblood. Five minutes… Ten minutes… He’s out. And he’s gone.”

“What the fuck did I just watch?”

“That, Dave, was the hemospectrum in action.” You grin wide, pleased with the tape. You don’t even want to watch the rest of the tapes to know what exactly happened inside the hive. It’s obvious enough from this one tape. But you have to be thorough. You can’t let anything slip away, otherwise it’ll be used against your case in the courtroom and Karkat will face the consequences.

“Trolls are fucked up. Should I put in another tape to see what happens inside?”

“What’s the point? This proved all we need,” Slick rasps. “‘Sides, I’m bored of watching tapes. Can’t we just wrap this up now? Go get the confession? Finish this shit?”

You never thought that you and Slick would agree so much on something. It makes you feel kind of gross, but it strengthens your resolve on going through the rest of the tapes. “We have to be thorough.”

He huffs. “You’ve got a stick up your ass if you think we need to be even more thorough.”

“Stick up my ass or no stick up my ass, I’m at least attempting to cover it by making sure we know all the facts. Next tape, Dave.”

Even though Slick’s obviously grumbling insults about you, he quiets down when the tape starts to roll.

Vriska resumes her mumbling. “Interior camera. Looks like the respiteblock, with a troll sleeping in the ‘coon. I’m so glad this guy is like Zahhak in that he sleeps in his clothes.”

“How do you-“

“Hush up, Strider, I’m explaining things to Terezi.” You would like to know the answer to that, too, but that’s something for another time. “Dave, fast forward until this guy wakes up. Okay- There. Wakes up to something, goes to check it out… Dripping slime everywhere, like a typical muscle head… He’s back in frame, obviously swinging punches at someone off-camera. Stumbles back, there’s our dear friend Saffir Wralle, sickle in hand- victim’s back is against his recuperacoon, pushes his recuperacoon as he seems to be going for a weapon off-camera… Wow, idiot, you do NOT turn your back on someone with a- Holy shit I forgot how much bluebloods bleed. I know this is black and white and all but fuuuuck that’s gruesome. Victim hits the ground, Wralle disappears. Speed it up, just a little. If I’m right… Yeah, there goes the window. He’ll be back in… Okay, yeah, sure, speed it up a bit more, whatever. Okay, back in frame… Yep, like I thought, he’s doing something to the broken glass… Can’t really see what… Aaaand he’s gone. Right then! That wraps it all up, doesn’t it, Terezi?”

“Except for where that sickle came from and how he got the blood… But those are little details that aren’t going to change the fact that Wralle did, indeed, kill his superior.” You stand and go to where Karkat had sat himself - which was as far away from you as he could manage - and lick his cheek. “You’re completely innocent, but that’s not a surprise.”

He sputters, shocked and annoyed, then wipes his cheek clean and glares. “No shit that’s not a surprise! I know I’m innocent!” His words are spat out, but you aren’t going to back down because of that. You can smell the slight pink on his cheeks. That’s a victory for you.

Just like this case is going to be.

“Slick, Dave, Vriska. Let’s go confront this guy and get the confession. This way when we’ve next got court he isn’t all uppity and condescending and it’ll all get wrapped up nice and neatly.” You leave Karkat alone to simmer and grumble under his breath, strutting to the door. You’re ready for this to be over with.

Vriska follows you out, a smug tint to her scent. “Careful, Legislacerator, your emotions may start to muddle your thoughts.”

You huff and knock your cane against her shins. “Hush up, I know what I’m doing. I know how to keep emotions separate from work, and I’m offended that you feel the need to bring this up.” She still smells like smugness; you just roll your eyes and avert your attention to Dave and Slick when they come out. “Slick, you’re sticking with me. We’re going to get the confession while Dave and Vriska keep an eye out in case he tries to escape. No violence. Understood?”

“Why’re you looking at me?” Vriska’s clearly offended, but you merely grin at her. “Alright, fine, no violence. Have a bit of trust, I know when to not use violence.”

“No ‘accidents’ either, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it. The guy doesn’t get injured in any way, right?”

“Right!” You grin more, then turn on your heel and lead the way.

Behind you, you hear Slick grumbling about how you’re taking over his case. But he doesn’t do anything to try stopping you, so you’re just going to ignore it. If he has a problem with you leading, then he can bring it up to you.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Late? Rushed? Possibly crap? Yes to all of these. But there's one more main chapter left! (If there's another chapter after that, it'll just be a shippy chapter.)

You’re let into the building easily, the secretary remembering you and seeming eager to let you in. She doesn’t seem to be very fond of Wralle. She even makes it a point of saying that she was berated for allowing them in earlier.

“You’re back.” His jaw is tight and words forcibly calm. It didn’t help that you banged your cane against his door until he finally acknowledged your presence. Slick’s standing behind you, smelling mildly of amusement. “What do I owe this… Pleasure?”

“We just want a chat,” you respond, sliding inside and sitting yourself down, grin fixed and sharp. “More specifically, we want a chat about your whereabouts on the day of the murder. And if you want to get even more specific, we want to know why you were at the victim’s hive, breaking his window and planting the sickle.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, I’m sure you do.” Slick speaks up now, and you don’t need to fix your nose on his scent to know he’s smirking. “This lookin’ familiar?” You hear things get rattled, then the static of a TV be turned on.

“Where did you get that?” His voice is flat-out defensive; he’s no longer trying to hide his emotions.

“Does that really matter?” Your grin gets sharper, more dangerous. You can practically taste the confession in the air.

“Of course it matters!” His voice cracks a bit. You resist the urge to laugh at him.

“Says who, Mr. Wralle? This clearly shows that you are the murderer. I don’t think origin matters much given what this shows. And if the judge so desires, we will disclose how it was acquired to her. And, if she so desires, we will disclose it to the court as well.”

“You- You still can’t use that! There’s no proof of it being the original! It could be counterfeit!” The way he stammers, the way his voice is higher pitched, how you smell the sweat beading and practically hear it rolling down his skin - it all tells you that he knows this is the original. So you stay silent, grinning at him. “I have the real films right here!”

This is going to get interesting. You _were_ kind of curious as to what Slick replaced the tapes with.

Without you or Slick saying anything, he reaches into his desk to pull out the tapes. He moves to get out of his seat, but you smell Slick shove him back into the seat, snatching up the tapes, and replacing the ones playing with the ones that were ‘real’.

You can smell the smirk on the carapace’s face, and it makes your grin grow. This is going to be _so_ interesting. You can’t tell what the video is, exactly, but you can smell there’s color. Lots of color.

This certainly isn’t the same as the security tapes that were ‘acquired’ by Slick.

Ignoring the blueblood’s sputtering, you begin with, “Now, Mr. Wralle,” easily silencing him. “We all know you did it. And we know that there is no-“

“Prove the blood!” He’s regained some confidence, spitting the words at you as if it’s his proof of innocence. “The mutant blood on the glass!”

“Easily faked,” you supply, your grin unwavering. “There is no trace of Mr. Vantas showing up anywhere in the films, yet you’re clearly shown to be breaking the window. We’ve checked everything. So, are you going to make this easy and confess your guilt, or shall I have to explain your motives?”

“You’ll have to prove it was me!”

Stubborn. While that would typically amuse you, you’re in no mood for that. Maybe it’s the giggling that’s started up from the video that’s still playing. Maybe it’s because of how important this case is - this case you were never assigned to and instead took up on a whim. Maybe it’s because you’re just tired of dealing with someone as despicable as him.

“Noir, turn off the video.” You almost slipped by saying ‘your’ instead of ‘the’.

He does as instructed, grumbling just a bit. Something about ‘now you know how it feels’.

“You, Mr. Saffir Wralle,” you begin, turning your attention back to the troll, “killed your superior, Mr. Ernist Lillur, for his position. You’ve spent sweeps under him, always his lackey, even though your blood is a higher hue than his. You thought it would be easy to deal with, thought you would shoot past him, but after _so long_ under him and moving up - but always one step behind him - you couldn’t take it anymore. You went to his hive with the intent to kill him. These cameras were obviously placed by the victim in paranoia. They caught you going into his hive before the murder, then you come back out and-“

“Enough!” You stop, grinning. You have him. “Yes, I killed him! I murdered him because it _isn’t right_! He was _below_ me in the hemospectrum, and yet-“

“And yet you couldn’t understand the simple fact that he was just _better_ than you. And now you’re going to meet your downfall because of a simple tealblood. How does that make you _feel_?”

His snarl says it all, and you allow yourself to cackle.

“Noir, go ahead and take him in. This is your case, after all.”

You turn on your heel and leave at that, letting Slick deal with the troll. Your work here is done. It’s time for a much needed break with you and your two closest friends. So you gather them up on your way to your hive. When Dave tries to ask about how things went, you shush him. You don’t want to talk about work right now.

~ ~

The day before court, you go to visit your favorite mutant. You can smell the awkwardness rolling off him, hear the way he shifts on his shitty cot. He’s nervous. Scared, even.

“Stay calm. Breathe. You’ll be fine. You’ll be deemed not guilty. Because you’re _not_ guilty, Karkat, and we have all the proof needed.” You move to sit beside him, and he doesn’t tense. If nothing else, he seems to relax.

He heaves a sigh. “I know. Doesn’t make me less nervous.” The fact that he isn’t being aggressive shows that he’s either beyond that point in fear or that he trusts you enough to let his guard down. You hope for the latter.

“They _can’t_ convict you. Not with that video. Our judge seems oddly fair, considering her color. She may be annoyed if she finds out we got the tapes through unconventional means, but with how the first trial went she’ll likely let it pass. She doesn’t seem to be a fan of Wralle’s.”

He seems to relax a bit. “I’m a mutant.”

You sigh now, rolling your burnt eyes. “Yet you’re alive. Why?”

No answer. He doesn’t know.

“Our judge doesn’t care about your blood. At least, she didn’t accept the accusation immediately because of it. That means we have more than a slight chance.” You’re trying to comfort him, but you don’t know how to do it any way other than objectively. Emotions aren’t really your forte. _Manipulating_ emotions, fucking with people’s heads, now _that_ you can do.

This… Not so much.

Especially not with someone that’s typically a very touchy, volatile troll.

“What if something happens?” His voice was quiet. Too quiet. Painfully quiet. “What if the evidence goes missing? Or we get a new judge? Or she changes her mind?”

He’s starting to panic. You can hear his blood rushing faster, hear his breathing get uneven. You lean over, about to press your shoulder against his, then rethink your movements. Instead of going to rest your head on his shoulder, you move your entire body so you’re sitting in his lap instead, one leg on either side of him. Your hands are on his shoulders, and you can feel his muscles tense from having you on him like this.

It isn’t sexual, though. You just wanted his attention on _you_ and not the panic setting in. “Breathe.”

He’s gaping at you, clearly not understanding what the hell it is that you’re doing. But even so, his breathing was starting to even out. It was quicker than the average pace, but not anywhere near quick enough for you to worry about him hyperventilating.

“Karkat. You’ll be _fine_. This will all turn out _fine_. You’re going to get off not guilty, I promise.”

He makes a sound.

“I know you have no reason to trust me, but _trust me_.”

“That makes no sense,” he mumbles, his head bowing. His cheeks smell slightly of cherries, making you wonder why he’s blushing. “Why should I trust you if you say you have no reason to?”

You give a little huff and nudge your forehead against the top of his head, between his horns. Then you rest your head there, nuzzled into his hair. “I haven’t let you down yet, right? I mean, I know we haven’t exactly dealt with each other long… But I haven’t fucked up yet.”

He’s silent.

“I won’t fuck up this time, either. I have never messed up a case. I won’t let this case be my first.”

His silence continues, but his breathing slows down. He calms down. Slowly but surely, until he slumps against you completely.

You let him, and your head moves so that it’s nestled against his neck. His scent is strong here. It’s nice here. His breathing slows more, his muscles relaxing more. He leans against you.

Maybe he’s comfortable here, too. That would be nice.

The two of you are like this for a while, just leaning on each other and breathing with each other. It seems to help him. It helps you, too. Dave and Vriska had gotten at each other’s throats again, and you weren’t able to mediate this time. Hell if you even know what it was about. Their emotions are getting more out of hand. You had decided it would be best to leave them alone to work things out.

No way did you want to be in your hive during that.

You don’t really want to go back now, though. It’s nice right here.

“The sun’s gonna be getting stronger,” Karkat mumbles, “Shouldn’t you leave before your protection doesn’t give you enough protection anymore?”

He’s talking about the sun-proof gear that’s setting in a corner. It isn’t perfect. Noontime is dangerous, even with the protection. The rays aren’t totally blocked, after all, and they’re strongest around and just after noontime. It wouldn’t be safe to leave then.

Maybe you won’t have to leave.

“Nobody says you can’t have visitors stay the day.” Actually, it’s in the visitors’ guidelines, but he doesn’t need to know that. You can worm your way out of it, anyways. Say you had been here talking to him about the upcoming trial and the time had gotten too dangerous to be outside. Nobody would argue with that.

Karkat seems rather surprised by what your words are suggesting, his muscles tensing, then he relaxes with a slight huff. “Only because it’s too late already.”

It’s not. You won’t tell him that, though. He probably knows it already; he’s just telling himself otherwise.

“I can make a comfortable enough setting for myself out of my gear.”

“Or we could share my shitty cot.” You stare at him, honestly surprised. “You’re sitting in my lap. Sharing a cot isn’t much different than you using me as a troll chair.”

He has a fair point, you just hadn’t thought of it.

For a moment, you think of asking to make sure he’s really okay with this. But he’s the one that suggested it, so of course he’s okay with this.

“Maybe for once I won’t wake up randomly shivering,” you joke, grinning.

“Nobody said we’d be snuggling,” he shoots back, scowling.

“Your cot is small. We may not cuddle, but I’ll still feel your heat.”

He huffs but says nothing more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((btw this'll all be done before the end of the month because i want to do camp nanowrimo this july))


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last (real) chapter! The case is wrapped up now, the last chapter is just a shippy chapter.

When evening rolls around, you’re the first to stir. For a moment, you completely forget where you are, tensing at the feeling of hardness under your body. You rarely sleep on anything hard. It’s usually your recuperacoon, your scalemate pile, or some sorta-soft pile that you make because you’re too tired to make it back to your hive.

The heat soaking into you relaxes your muscles again, and you find yourself nestling a bit closer to the source of the heat. His scent reminds you of where you are. Karkat’s cell. Right. You had stayed the day here both because you didn’t want to deal with Vriska and Dave and because it was going to be dangerous outside.

So much for not cuddling; the two of you have practically made knots out of your limbs. And from what you can sniff and feel, he’s the one that initiated the cuddles. He has an arm around your torso, a leg around your hips, and when you shifted to press yourself a bit closer to him he makes a soft humming sound and moves his head to be in your hair.

You giggle softly, not thinking the quiet sound would wake him. But he stirred, his muscles tensing as he stretches, then he goes stiff. Probably working through what’s going on right now, what this means.

Then he hisses out a quiet curse and pushes you - almost off the cot. To prevent that, you dig your nails into his sweater - into his chest - and cling to him. He growls; you growl back.

“Your nails are in my _fucking skin_.”

“You tried pushing me onto the _fucking ground_.”

“It was a natural reaction to finding someone sleeping with you that isn’t supposed to be there!”

“You’re the one that offered!”

He growls again, then huffs. “You’re fucking ridiculous. It’s not like you would’ve hit the ground hard or anything. We’re pretty low to the ground.”

You grumble and take your nails back, wiggling off the cot and to be standing, fixing your clothing. “Get up. You’ve got court soon.”

What a way to start the night.

Outside the room the final trial will be held in you find Dave and Vriska, both impatiently waiting and blatantly wondering where the fuck you were. You had to leave before anyone came to fetch Karkat, so you’re alone. That’s probably for the best, considering where both their mind’s would go should they see you and Karkat showing up together.

You respond to their silent questions by walking inside without saying a damn thing, not wanting to deal with their teasing until after the trial is over. Despite you comforting Karkat, your gut is twisting in ways you don’t enjoy. You’re worried. Very worried. Alternian law is cruel, ever-changing against the lower castes, Karkat’s worries of something changing to fuck him over could very easily become a reality.

When the smell of royalty and fishy saltiness hits your nose, a grin spreads your lips. Meenah Peixes is still the judge, and that means you have a shot. A good shot. Nobody can tell the Heiress how to run her court - nobody but the Empress herself, but if the head bitch had gotten involved there’s no way her descendant would still be judge.

“A’ight, let’s get this fuckin’ sh’bang goin’!” What a way to begin a trial.

Your nostrils flare, taking in all the scents of the important persons present. There are more in the audience; word of this trial must have spread. Curious on-lookers have come to see the fate of the mutant. But much to your delight, Wralle and his human lawyer are smelling rather unsettled. They know they can’t win. Karkat is smelling anxious as well, but you think you smell a licorice hand on his shoulder. Is Slick trying to comfort him? You never would’ve thought him the type. Or maybe he just doesn’t want his defendant to start bawling in the middle of court.

For once, Dave and Vriska are settled down. Dave’s looking and smelling stoic, emotionless; Vriska isn’t bothering to even try hiding her smugness.

You don’t blame her. You’re essentially doing the same, grin on your face as Peixes requests how Karkat’s pleading. Of course his response is ‘not guilty’.

“Of course Vantas McShouty is krill pleading not guilty. Now how about some more proof. Wralle, you got some?”

“No, your honor.” Despite the fear rolling off him, he keeps his face level. You’d feel bad for him if he wasn’t a killer and an asshole.

Taking his chance, Slick clears his throat and rasps, “We’ve got some for ya. Against Wralle. It’s a recording from the victim’s hive at the time of the murder.”

“Oh reely? And why didn’t ya bring it to my attention sooner?”

“‘Cause we didn’t know it existed until after the previous trial.”

She seems interested, curious to know how it got into your hands. Or, well, _their_ hands. You technically had nothing to do with it. But she keeps her questions to herself, instead waving him on to show the tapes.

“Saffir Wralle,” she begins, a shark grin on her face, “you are considered guilty for the murder of your superior Ernist Lillur and face the second-highest form of punishment - _execution_.” The highest form of punishment is death by torture. Only one troll has ever had that punishment.

She doesn’t listen to the human’s or the blueblood’s stammerings on how this is _’so wrong because he’s a mutant’_ , but she does threaten to shove her fork somewhere unpleasant should they not quiet down. So they do, and guards come in to sweep Wralle away, leaving his lawyer a wreck, slouched in his chair with his head in his hands.

The audience is released, Karkat and Slick having to hang behind for the proper wrap-up of his charges and all that fun stuff. You don’t hang around. You would have if given the chance, but that didn’t happen as your two partners practically drag you off.

And by ‘drag’, you mean ‘each had a grip on one of your arms and pulled you’. That’s something of a good sign: they’re getting along well enough to plot against you.

They don’t let you go until you’re at your own hive, and toss you into the nearest scalemate pile.

“Tell us what happened yesterday.”

“Is he a good fuck?”

You stare at Dave, wondering why the _fuck_ he would even care about something like that. He shrugs, nonchalant. “I just decided to stay the day with him! We didn’t do anything other than that. I thought it’d be good to make sure his nerves weren’t getting the best of him, and by the time he was calmed down and ready for trial it was too dangerous to leave.”

Speaking of which, you just realized you hadn’t taken your sun protection gear with you this evening. Well, it’ll find its way back to you somehow. This wouldn’t be the first time you’ve left it somewhere, and you’ve yet to properly lose it.

Vriska leans towards you, eyes narrowed, and you narrow your eyes back, not intimidated in the slightest. She hasn’t intimidated you in sweeps. “You still pity him?”

The question takes you by surprise, but you quickly compose yourself. “Duh.” She huffs and stands straight up again, hands on hips. “I’m allowed to pity who I want to pity!”

“He’s a _mutant_. Just because you got lucky this time in court doesn’t mean you’ll be so lucky next time.”

Next time. That’s right. Chances are, he’ll be used as a scapegoat for a lot of things. If the Empress didn’t know about this trial - which you highly doubt - then she may find out about him and want him culled. Or she may want him - and possibly you - dead because now that’s two highly ranking bluebloods dead.

But why should you let that stop you? You’ve never let anything stop you before.

So, defiant, you clench your jaw. “I don’t care.”

Vriska’s blue lips quirk up in a smirk, and she pats your shoulder. “Guess it’s not just his smell that’s got you going after him, huh? Yeah, alright, I approve. Strider?”

He makes a noncommittal sound, still not seeming convinced. The fact that this is an interrogation about your feelings for Karkat makes you want to laugh and lecture them at the same time. They don’t hold any of your quadrants, so technically this shouldn’t concern them, but at the same time they care about you and you care about them. They just want to make sure this is a good idea and that you’re not just letting your nose get in the way.

“‘Rezi’s a big troll. She won’t let some ass hurt her.”

That’s all he has to say on the subject, and you kind of want to hug him. You would have, too, had you not been interrupted by banging on your door.

Vriska moves to get the door, but you beat her too it, hissing that this is your hive, dammit, even though they practically live here.

“Who the _fuck_ lives in a Goddamn _tree_?” Karkat’s agitated voice greets you, and your lips split into a wide grin. Your tongue is on his face in an instant, and he lets out a screech, shoving your face with his one free hand. “Of fucking course! I forgot you’re fucking _psychotic_! Holy shit, here I am, coming to deliver the shit you left at my cell like the forgetful bulgemuncher you are, and you greet me with that nasty ass tongue on my face! Who the fuck taught you manners? Certainly not your lusus!”

Despite his yelling, his cheeks are red and he’s not looking at you.

“My lusus only taught me how to smell colors.” You snatch your protection gear, toss it inside somewhere to be dealt with later, then step outside and shut the door. “We’ll be back soon~!” You don’t hear a single protest.

Karkat’s glowering at you, his arms crossed by cheeks still colored. He doesn’t protest this either, and you lead the way to your contraption to let the two of you down.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The purely ship-oriented chapter, and the last chapter of Framed. I am honestly so glad to finally have it completed and so sorry that it took me this long to finish it.

Once the two of you are on the forest floor, he opens his mouth. You silence him by taking his hand and walking, knowing exactly where you want to take him.

Once he’s gotten over the surprise of your hand clasping his - and his hand adjusting so he can be holding your hand as well - he manages to actually say something upon opening his mouth. “Where are we going?”

You had honestly expected some kind of insult.

“To see my lusus. It’s one of my favorite places in my forest, and it’s near enough.”

“Hold on. _Your_ forest? Last I checked, trolls don’t just get to own whole forests like that.”

You doubt he’s actually ‘checked’ anything like that, but his point is still valid. “I just call it that. I’m the only one that lives here, so I call it mine. But I guess I should call it the Librans’, since my ancestor used to live here, too.” You give his hand a bit of a squeeze, and while he doesn’t squeeze back his cheeks certainly color some more. Good enough for you. You have to pry him open, after all. Dig out the mushy center to claim him as yours, and that takes time.

You can smell a question on his face, but he’s staying quiet. So you nudge your shoulder against his, light and playful. “You can ask me anything.”

“How come your lusus doesn’t live with you? Is it… You know…”

“Dead?” He seems to flinch at the bluntness, and you snicker. “No. The total opposite. She has yet to hatch. But she’s still with me. We can talk in my dreams. I wish we could talk more, but her hatching would bring about the end of the world. I’ll show you what I mean when we get there. What’s your lusus like? Dave hasn’t got one and Vriska’s is a murderous bitch.” Much like Vriska herself. She’s gotten a bit better.

Karkat falters with some words, and you know he’s wanting to ask about what the hell you meant by your lusus hatching bringing about the end of the world. But he doesn’t ask, instead muttering a single word: “Crabby.”

You snicker some more. “I could’ve guessed as much.”

“Fuck off,” he grumbles, knowing you’re calling him crabby. “He’s an actual crab. The claws and noises and everything. He clicks.”

“But what’s he _like_? Besides just crabby! Do you take care of him more than he takes care of you?”

He snorts. “Define taking care of. He fends for himself. I mostly fend for myself. Occasionally we fight. He likes to come back with more movies sometimes. Or just random ass shit that I don’t care about.” His voice isn’t as rough anymore, and you can tell that he cares about his lusus. Maybe fighting is how they show their affection.

That would be pretty cute.

For a moment, you wonder how you and your lusus would show affection for each other if she was allowed to hatch. Maybe licking? But there’s no point in thinking of such things. It’s never going to happen.

The cold smell of stone hits your nose, and your lips split into a grin, thoughts of your lusus hatching pushed to the back of your mind. You’ve adjusted to the mild scent of death over the sweeps.

Karkat doesn’t seem to be accustomed to it as you can smell his nose scrunching up.

“She’s the teal egg.”

“ _Really?_ I thought she was the fucking rotting _skull_!”

“Then you would be very wrong!” Of course you know it’s sarcasm, but you couldn’t help it. Hearing his sound of strangled annoyance and smelling his face contort gives you such a great amount of pleasure. “Her egg is what’s keeping that skull in the air. I don’t really know what the skull symbolizes… But I know that if she hatches, the balance will be broken and the pad on that box will be pressed.”

“How do you know that something as-“ He cuts himself off with a cough, then restarts. “How do you know that that’s what causes the apocalypse?”

Your grin softens for a moment. He was going to call it stupid. Ridiculous. Some kind of insult. He rethought his words.

That was sweet.

“It’s assumed. And that was one of the first dreams she gave me, so I’m trusting her to know.”

He snorts. “Sure seems to think she knows a lot considering she isn’t even _hatched_ yet.”

You shrug, then step up to the large scales, placing a hand on the cold stone before turning and sitting, you back leaning on the base. “But she’s my lusus. And isn’t part of a custodian’s job to trust their lusus to know what they’re talking about?”

He stays standing in his spot for a moment more before coming over to sit beside you. You can smell him tense for a moment, probably because of the cold stone. “You _and_ your lusus are fucking weird,” he grumbles.

“And yet here you are, sitting next to me in my forest with my weird lusus above us when you could’ve ditched or told me to fuck off so you could get back to whatever it is you want to do now that you’re a free troll.” You lean against his shoulder just a bit, glad to not smell or feel him tensing.

“Yeah. I’m a fucking dumbass, aren’t I?” He doesn’t move from his spot, doesn’t push you away, and honestly that’s all you were hoping for. “I was also wondering… Since, you know, you saved my ass for free and everything… I mean, I should at least be a decent troll by offering you dinner or something, right? Or, fuck, I don’t know, what do you do as entertainment?”

You snicker a bit, grinning wider as you smell the red crawling onto his cheeks, coloring his grey skin in your favorite color. “Dinner sounds good. Or lunch. Or breakfast. Or brunch. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Just some proper time to learn more about _you_. And free food, too. Feeding three people is kind of expensive.”

He makes a snorting sound, and you take pride in getting him to sound amused. He’s a tough nut to crack alright. That doesn’t dissuade you in the slightest. In fact, it just makes you more attracted to him.

“Just don’t eat me broke and we won’t have a problem.”

“Ohhh, is that an offer for more dates?” You waggle your eyebrows at him, then burst into cackles at the sudden blossom of red.

He sputters for several seconds, flailing his arms and leaning away from you. “It’s not- This isn’t- I-I never said anything about this being a date!” He may have finally gotten his words out, but in no way is he composed.

The red on his face has spread, encompassing his ears and crawling down his neck. You can practically hear his pumper pushing his blood faster, relishing in the way he goes all-out in his embarrassment. “Well if you won’t, then I will.” You lean towards him, slowly, judging the minute differences in how he’s holding himself. “Why not make this first time a trial date? See how it goes. See how we work outside of life-or-death situations.”

He hasn’t moved, his pusher thumping harder and louder and _faster_. You love the way it gets your own blood racing.

After several seconds, he nods once. “Yeah… Alright. One rule: no licking me in public.”

In public.

Your lips split wide, and he must realize his mistake a second before your tongue is on him because he starts to make a sound. But it doesn’t matter. Your tongue is up his cheek in seconds, the shriek in his throat cutting off whatever he was going to say.

“You’re the fucking _worst_ , you know that? The absolute least necessary thing to ever exist on this shitty planet! Like fucking fuck, you ask me on a date then go and sexually harass me despite wanting _me_ to pay for the dinner! The least you could do is pay!”

The tirade is ended by a snort coming from you, and you sit back in your original spot, grinning wide. “I thought you were paying for it as thanks for my help with the case?”

He grumbles, then crosses his arms and scowls, the red still bright and delicious. “Fuck off.”

“Very mature, Karkat,” you tease, leaning over to place a quick peck on his cheek. It takes him off guard, and you don’t need more than a quick sniff to make out his facial expression. “Why so shocked? I know how lips work. I just prefer to lick. It’s how dragons show their affection.”

“Then you must like a lot of fucking things,” he shoots back, obviously referring to how you use your tongue to help you ‘see’ things.

“It’s dual-purpose.”

“You’re making that shit up, and I’m not gonna fall for it. So there.”

Talk about such a grubbish way of ending a sentence. Licking totally is dual-purpose, but you have no way of proving it it to him. And why waste your breath with it? Him understanding or not understanding isn’t going to change how often your tongue touches his face.

So you shrug it off and lean your shoulder against his, then your head on his shoulder. “When’s our date? We may as well plan it out here and now, with nobody around to bother us.” It’s rare that you don’t have someone else around you, what with your job and having two partners that also happen to be your two best friends. “It should be soon. I’m going to be getting a new case soon, and when I’m working a case I have no time for a personal life.”

You feel him nod a bit and scoot to be a bit closer to him. His arm moves to make it easier, wrapping it around you once you’ve made yourself comfortable against his side. “Then how about tomorrow? I can come get you for lunch. I know a place that’s pretty good. It’s not fancy or anything, but the food is good and the people there are at least tolerable.”

“That’s a pretty big compliment, coming from the guy that seems to hate everything.”

He snorts but doesn’t deny it.

“That sounds like a good idea to me. Tomorrow I’m just going to be coming up with my report for your case. It may not have been mine, but I’m going to have to justify my reasonings for hopping on and why I shouldn’t have my position revoked because of it.”

He tenses, and you can take a guess as to why. It’s easy to assume, considering what you just said.

“I won’t lose my position. They aren’t going to fire me or cull me or put me on trial for anything. Justice prevailed, and honestly… History was totally made. Your case is one of the very few where the lowerblood wins _and_ the first recorded case of a mutant. Ever. Your ancestor didn’t get a trial, and he’s the only other known mutant. Any others passed their lives under the radar or were killed in the brooding caverns. Hell, I may get a raise.” You snort, then laugh, knowing that isn’t going to happen. “But, essentially, I haven’t lost anything and I won’t be losing anything because of your case.”

You feel his muscles soften again, feel him nod again, hear him sigh a little. “Good. Because you’re… Fucking good at what you do,” he mumbles. “Don’t let that get to your head, got it? You’re already a pain in my ass, I don’t want to add ‘big-headed egoist’ to that.” His tone is immediately back to normal, and you smile at the harsness. 

He’s definitely not going to be immediately sweet to you even if the date goes extraordinarily well, but you don’t care. As it is right now, he’s yours and that’s good enough for you. “Do you want to hang out here for a while longer?”

After a brief pause, you feel him shift then feel his head against yours, resting between your horns. “Sure. Why not. It’s… kind of nice here.”

You smile more and nod, silently agreeing. It’s definitely nice here, quiet and calm and even though it isn’t all that comfortable you don’t mind because you have Karkat to lean on. Your eyes close, your breathing evens out, and you let yourself fully relax, your mind wandering to the future - and, more specifically, tomorrow’s date.


End file.
